Neverland in Your Arms
by Sinmora
Summary: Starts at end of S2, sequel to "Break Yourself Against my Stones." But can be read as a standalone. Will include all the normal characters, except Ruby goes instead of Gold. Rated M for language, explicit sex between SQ and RB, maybe some torture. My version of how S3 (part 1) should have gone. Romance, angst, adventure, family, and lots of cursing and laughter.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, My Doves! So, I decided to work on both prequel and sequel at the same time because holy shit that deep dark stuff is difficult and I needed something a bit lighter to keep me sane so that I wouldn't give up on it!

Warnings: This first chapter is so fucking fluffy that you could make 20 batches of rice crispy treats and have enough left over to top 10 pies. As for the last scene, all I can say is, "When in Boston!"

Songs: Let's Go (Geronimo) by Audiogroove, Halo by Beyonce, Supergirl by Majestee of Sweden

_**Boston 8 months after leaving Storybrooke**_

Emma stared at the question on the plain white paper on her desk, but her mind refused to comprehend the words. It was the very last question of her very last exam of the spring semester, her first semester as an official bonafide college student. And her brain shut down 10 minutes too soon. She tossed her pencil on the desk and scrubbed her face beneath her glasses. Why had she wanted to come to college? She sighed deeply, snatched the writing utensil, and slapped down a half-assed answer. She nearly stood and turned in her exam, but Regina's voice nagged in the back of her mind, forcing her to sit down, erase the bullshit and formulate a proper answer. With a satisfied smile, she handed over the immaculate exam and slipped the strap of her bag over her head.

"Will I see you next semester, Emma?" Dr. Maggie Smith asked in her soft but firm lilt.

"I hope so, Dr. Smith. I've really enjoyed your class," Emma whispered, aware of the other students behind her still scribbling answers. "I never realized how beautiful Poe could be, dark and creepy, sure. The past two years have redefined my definition of beauty and insanity, though, and you definitely explain things in a way that makes me think instead of judging his characters and him as an author." She smiled brightly and turned to leave, figuring the conversation with the reserved woman to be closed.

"What redefined your definition?" Maggie asked suddenly. Emma faced the woman again and leaned a hip into the table that served as a desk in the small classroom.

"I found true love in an evil queen," Emma leaned close and answered cryptically, pushing off the desk. Maggie's eyebrows raised but a knowing smirk graced her lips. She appreciated mystery, and Emma Swan certainly had been a treat in that regard.

Emma stopped when she reached the sidewalk outside the building and held her face up the bright sun. She took a deep breath and spread her arms wide, uncaring if people stared. She was happy. The sun felt good. And they were all nuts until this week ended. It was completely acceptable behavior.

"Swan!" An accented voice called, and her arms fell in exhausted irritation. She'd nearly made it off campus without being stopped. Not that she was particularly social, but she'd made a few acquaintances that she ate lunch with occasionally.

"Hey Chase!" She called across the quad, not really interested in what he had to say. He was narcissistic and irritating, but he amused her so she kept him around. Plus, he bought her lunch a lot.

"Hey Emma," a young woman with dark brown hair greeted, much more calmly. She and Thirteen had bonded quickly, and Emma dared to tentatively consider her a friend, barring any disasters that might pull her away from Boston again. No one really knew why she liked the nickname, but everyone used it, even professors. Emma never asked, enjoying the mystery. The other woman offered a smile from between the arrogant Australian and the quiet black man who held a sharp intelligence in his eyes. They practically surrounded her, and she stepped back to make a square-ish circle.

"We're heading out for a drink. Wanna come?" Chase invited, but his tone held a much more sexual meaning to his question. She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips anyway.

"I sort of have plans tonight. Maybe another time," she declined honestly, a hint of a waver slipping into her voice at exactly what her plans were. She touched her blue leather jacket and grinned at the hard form of the velvet covered ring box.

"Thirteen, I was actually going to text you. I have a favor. Could you possibly…"

"Emma!" The shrill and broken voice of her preteen son interrupted her thought process.

"Watch my son tonight," she finished quietly and raised her eyebrows at the shocked expressions on her friends' faces. She whirled in the direction of the voice without further comment.

Henry sprinted across the quad while Regina approached at a much slower pace. She wore black slacks and a royal purple button up shirt, tucked and completely free of wrinkles. Two buttons at the top had been opened, revealing a hint of cleavage. She must have abandoned her blazer when she left the law office where she worked as a paralegal, but not her insanely high heels. It was a little muggy today, and Emma thanked the weather gods as she watched her partner approach with a sensual sway in her hips and playful smirk on her lips.

"She has a kid?" Chase whispered behind her a moment before Henry slammed into her stomach.

"Hey Kid," Emma squeezed him and then whirled around and presented him to the trio, one eye on Regina.

"These are my friends, Kid. Friends, this is my kid," she introduced distractedly, fighting the urge to crawl to the sex goddess that was her gorgeous girlfriend.

Henry introduced himself properly and chattered at the three college students, grilling them on information about their majors and if they liked fairy tales. Emma released his shoulders and stepped away when Regina stopped two feet from her. The moment she turned from their son, Regina grabbed the strap of her laptop bag between her breasts and pulled Emma into her. Emma's brain turned stupid when her lips collided with Regina's. Was Regina marking her territory or simply horny and happy to see her? Why were she and Henry here at all?

"Uhh," she uttered as Regina's lips disappeared and an uncomfortable arousal burned in her belly. "Hi. What are you doing here?" Chase wolf whistled inappropriately, and Emma rolled her eyes ready to put the man in his place.

"Hey!" Henry snapped. "Those are my moms. Show some respect, why don't ya," he berated the immature man who shoved his hands into his pockets sheepishly. Regina raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow but said nothing.

"Back in Storybrooke my mom Regina was the mayor and Emma was the sheriff. Did you know that Regina means queen in Latin?" Henry turned to Thirteen and immediately engaged her in conversation. Her dark eyes widened at the revelation of Emma's work history, and Emma covered Henry's mouth from behind and pulled him into her chest.

"Ignore him, please. This is my partner, Regina Mills. This is Eric, Thirteen, and Chase," Emma introduced, laughter in her voice when Regina cordially shook each of their hands in complete and utter mayor mode.

"Baby, your mayor is showing," Emma jabbed at her lover and smirked at the glare she received. Emma cleared her throat. "So, what do you say, Thirteen? Want to baby sit my motor mouth for a few hours?" Emma donned her best puppy dog expression and pressed her hand harder into Henry's mouth as muffled protests heated her skin.

"Well, that certainly answers our question," Chase said in slight disbelief. Emma's eyes narrowed at the man.

"What question?" Emma asked, squirming with the knowledge that something childish and inappropriate swam behind his eyes and usually came out of his mouth. She covered Henry's ears and nodded emphatically.

"Which one of us you wanted to sleep with? You've been flirting all semester. We were taking you out to see who you'd go home with," he explained as Thirteen and Eric squirmed uncomfortably.

They were embarrassed and irritated at Chase's need to turn everything into something dirty...in front of the woman Emma clearly loved, worshipped even. And yes, they had all wanted to know, too, but completely forgot the bet when they watched Emma turn completely stupid at Regina's kiss. They knew they played completely out of their league on this one.

The question and any following comments were forgotten, however, when Regina's phone rang, blaring lyrics none of them expected from the polished and seemingly uptight former mayor.

"Cause I may be bad, but I'm perfectly good at it. Sex in the air. I don't care, I love the smell of it. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excited me."

Regina calmly pulled her phone from her back pocket, having grown accustomed to the constantly changing ring tones that signified an incoming call from her best friend. She smirked at the shocked blonde man and raised an eyebrow.

"And on that note, I believe the answer to your question of who my lover will be accompanying home has been elaborated upon," she spoke in a low tone, almost a whisper that rolled off her tongue, dripping sensuality with a hint of danger. She smiled prettily, innocently even and turned her back to take the call. Regina hated Chase, and it made Emma smile.

Thirteen and Eric's mouths hung open, and Emma felt a twinge of jealousy, not that they were immediately attracted to Regina because most people were but that they weren't staring at her anymore. Ah well, the game had been fun while it lasted. Emma and her friends watched her take a few steps away with gaping mouths and flushed cheeks. Emma's ears even burned. She turned Henry's face upwards and smiled down at him.

"Why don't you go say hi to Aunt Ruby and let her know that she and I are going to have a discussion about what music she lets you listen to," Emma suggested. He nodded awkwardly and took off towards his other mother.

"Please, Thirteen!" Emma whispered harshly, glancing over her shoulder as she pulled the ring from her pocket.

She held it to her stomach, positioned her back to Regina in the event she looked over, and opened it. It was unique to say the least. Emma had it special ordered after a month of finding nothing that suited Regina's personality. The band was 18k white gold. At the top, four little claws held a simply cut 1 caret black diamond. Inlaid on either side of the crowning jewel were five rubies. Swirling designs wrapped around the band, giving it the feel of an antique. She definitely would have mistaken it for an antique if she'd seen it in any of the many shops she'd wandered into during her search for the perfect engagement ring.

It had cost her a pretty, pretty penny, but her savings during her three years as a bail bonds person still offered a comfortable safety net should it be needed in future. They lived on Regina's salary from the law firm, anyway, so it wasn't as if they were pressed for funds. Even if they used her savings, she never cared about the money, not when the look on Regina's face at the sight of the custom ring would surely bring her so much more joy. She snapped it shut and shoved it back into her pocket with a quick glance over her shoulder. Regina remained oblivious, back turned as she spoke with Ruby.

"A black diamond? Really?" Thirteen criticized.

"She doesn't like the white ones. Look, don't worry about the ring. She'll love it," Emma assured, not really wanting to get into why Regina wouldn't want a white diamond.

"I only need a yes or no or a maybe pending a future date, but I've been carrying this thing around with me for two weeks now. She's almost found it twice, and I know her. She finds everything, which is why I have to carry it with me everywhere. It's burning a hole in my pocket. Please. Please. Please. I will owe you two huge favors," Emma offered and smiled hopefully.

"I'll do it for a nude picture of the two of you," Chase offered and caught Eric's eye, hoping that his fellow male comrade concurred with his wanting to make his fantasy image a reality.

"Chase," Emma closed her eyes, tamping down her anger. It didn't work. She punched his arm hard. "Shut the fuck up."

"Uhh. Ow!" He grabbed the area in a huff, no longer amused at Emma's butch-ness. It actually really hurt, and he wouldn't' be surprised if it bruised.

"Emma," Regina's thick voice called, and Emma's heart sank. She knew that tone. "We need to go to Maine, right now. Mr. Mendell returned and brought friends who are very interested in Storybrooke's unique qualities unknown to most tourists," Regina explained without actually saying anything untoward. They'd gotten good at that in the past eight months.

"Sorry, guys, I'll catch up with you when we get back. Duty calls," she walked backwards as she spoke, shrugged and then jogged to catch up with Regina and Henry.

She wiggled in between the two most important people in the world. Regina slid her fingers between hers, and Emma threw an arm over Henry's shoulders. Emma sighed contentedly, even though she knew whatever was happening in Storybrooke would inevitably destroy the feeling.

"So, not that I'm not happy, but why are you guys here?" Emma asked, glancing between her lover and their son.

"Henry had a half day of school today, remember? I took off work early with the intention of surprising you with lunch in the city. That appears to be postponed for the moment," Regina explained.

She squeezed Emma's hand tighter and wrapped her other hand around her bicep. It was a very girlish and feminine gesture, and Emma melted a little bit. Regina slowly reverted in age, the longer they stayed in Boston. She was still snappy, quick-witted, and somewhat bitchy. They word volleyed everyday, sarcasm their favorite form of communication. That and many nights of lovemaking. Neither of them were great with expressing their feelings and emotions, so they spoke through touch. It still worked for them.

But Regina was different somehow. Softer and gentler. Her coworkers adored her as did their neighbors, and their neighbors' kids. She and Emma were considered the "cool moms" of the block, and Henry practically played with a different kid every night. They'd both finally found a home, a place to belong, and a child who adored them with every fiber of his being and received the same from his doting mothers. This ending justified everything they'd gone through from birth up to the moment they departed from Storybrooke.

"So, what exactly is going on in Maine?" She asked hesitantly. Regina sighed. "Is it life-threatening or another one of Ruby's panic attacks?" Emma asked, making a valiant effort not to be irritated at her lover's best friend and at the very least succeeded in keeping that frustration from her voice.

"I'm not sure," Regina sighed. Her mood always darkened when they talked about Ruby. She felt responsible for her friend's suffering, and no amount of convincing would ever have altered that. Emma tried for months before giving up.

Ruby still woke up in the middle of the night screaming about her heart or calling for Regina because she'd watched her die for hundredth time in her dreams. They worsened around the full moon, which led to many hours of phone conversations between Regina and Ruby on their cell phones in the middle of the night while Emma calmed and encouraged Belle as best she could on hers. It only took them two months away before they realized that Ruby would have called every full moon begging Regina to come back, so they planned their visit's the weekend before the full moon every month. It helped.

Emma felt guilty for her selfish frustration, knowing Ruby had literally been willing to sacrifice everything in order to protect them. It was an issue she discussed with her own therapist in Boston during her individual sessions. She, Regina, and Henry all saw a grief and trauma specialist twice a month individually and once as a family. It helped tremendously, and Emma watched her son slowly become a happy, carefree child again. It was beautiful. She also found that venting about Ruby's situation made her better able to handle the late night calls and hours usurped from Regina's life everyday.

The waitress tried to get better, took a few wobbly steps forward and fell. At Regina's insistence, she saw Dr. Hopper twice a week for individual therapy and once with Belle to ensure their relationship received the support it needed while the Post-traumatic Stress ran its course. That also helped, but there was nothing else anyone could have done. Her mind would be healed when it healed.

When they visited as a family, they discussed their relationship and the trials they'd gone through in order to be together, the abridged and edited version of course. It didn't matter if magic was mentioned or not; the emotions remained the same no matter how it was spun. They discovered that Henry had developed attachment issues, which is why he had struggled to make friends. They both held each other and cried the first night he'd asked to go over to one of the neighbors' for dinner because he'd befriended the little boy who waited at the bus stop with him.

Their therapist assured them that when he felt secure in his relationship with both of his mothers that he would branch out into his own age-appropriate social network. They ordered a pizza that night, ate it on their bed, watched television and cried. Their son was healing, mentally and emotionally, and it was by far their proudest moment as mothers.

Emma held her tongue about her thoughts as she opened the passenger door for Regina and closed it once she'd settled into the seat. She spoke as she slid behind the wheel.

"Can we wait until tomorrow? I'm exhausted from exams. You have work, and Henry has school and therapy tomorrow. Maybe you could request next week off and spend it with her. Henry and I will come back and pick you up next weekend," Emma offered supportively.

"Are you certain? I only receive one week of vacation time every six months. Didn't you want to go to England this summer? I won't get another week until November, and by then Henry will have started school and the holidays," Regina babbled as she buckled her seat belt. Emma just watched. It was such a normal conversation, so far from the discussion of magic and death and horror that had begun their relationship. They were doing this, Emma realized. They were happy. They had moved on from the traumatizing events that had brought them together.

"What?" Regina jerked back, confused and slightly unnerved by the expression on her partner's face. Emma tucked a shock of dark hair behind her ear and cupped her neck and cheek.

"I just… I'm so in love with you," Emma choked out as she leaned across the center console of their brand new Toyota Camry they'd purchased after arriving in Boston. She smashed their lips together, far more emotionally and passionately than she originally intended, but the honest emotion behind her words dictated her actions.

"I don't need Europe, Baby," she whispered and pressed her forehead to Regina's. "I just need you and Henry and our family. Ruby is far more important than traipsing around dusty libraries and museums. They will all be there next summer," Emma explained, realizing that she wasn't that upset about their ruined plans. Ruby and Belle were family, and family came first no matter how irritating dealing with them might have become. She wanted them to feel the way she just felt, normal and healed.

"Ever the dashing hero, Emma Swan," Regina teased and pressed her lips into Emma's again.

"Good," Henry commented from the back seat, and the women pulled apart to stare at their son. "Nathan's birthday party is tonight. I didn't want to be selfish," he elaborated guiltily, confessing to his mothers with his crestfallen face that he'd wanted to be exactly that.

"Oh that's right, Buddy. We got him a present, right?" Emma asked with a crinkled brow, trying to remember if they'd actually shopped for him.

"Yes, Dear. We picked it up last week. Don't you remember? You devoured an obscene amount of Dippin' Dots at the mall and made yourself nauseous," Regina reminded her, clearly still frustrated with her childish love for the chilled treat. Emma shrugged and buckled her seat belt.

"I remember the Dippin' Dots," she mumbled and started the car. Regina smiled brightly and laced her fingers with Emma's after she pulled the shifter into drive.

"You buckled, Kid?" Emma checked and glanced at their son in the rearview mirror. She knew he was, but the longer she behaved as an actual mother to him, the stronger her protective instinct became.

"Yep," he chirped, happy now that his plans hadn't been spoiled.

Regina set her phone on her thigh and lazily texted her friend with the details of their plan and then sent one to her boss informing him that a family emergency had arisen with her "sister." She was ahead of her fellow paralegals by at least three weeks' worth of work, so she foresaw no problem with the request. She smiled brightly when he answered almost immediately, telling her to also take tomorrow off without pay if she wanted it and offering well-wishes for her sister. She took the offer with a satisfied smirk. She had Emma all to herself for nearly nine hours tomorrow.

"He has a crush on you, ya know?" Emma groused bitterly, not at all amused by Regina's boss.

"He knows that I am happily unavailable. Stop scowling," Regina chided and then leaned her head on Emma's shoulder. Her phone buzzed again and she fumbled clumsily with one hand to read the text.

"I think Ruby's phone is broken. She sent a screen containing nothing but exclamation points," Regina informed her son and partner, her own excitement at seeing her friend again churning her belly. Emma chuckled.

She missed the wolf dearly, despite their nightly chats during Emma and Henry's homework time. They'd fallen into their daily routine easily, and Ruby dictated a several hour chunk of that each day. They walked Henry to the bus stop at 7:15, and then Regina drove Emma to class and arrived at work around 8. Emma worked on papers and read in the library in between classes or grabbed lunch with Regina if their schedules allowed.

Henry's bus dropped him at the university at 4 with Emma where they played basketball or tossed around a baseball or Frisbee until 5:15 when Regina picked them up. They arrived home around 5:45. Regina made dinner while Emma and Henry played video games or watched television. Lately, though, Emma encroached on her alone time in the kitchen while Henry played with kids from their street.

She tried to help and talked for the first week, but quickly realized that making dinner was Regina's time to unwind. So, if she came to the kitchen during kitchen time, she sat quietly at the island and pretended to read but mostly just stared at Regina. She loved to watch her cook. It irritated Regina at first until she realized that Emma made her self-conscious with her adoring and desire-filled eyes. After a couple of weeks, she found herself being aroused and comforted at the same time simply by being watched with those bright green eyes. Secretly, she missed Emma's eyes on her when the college student actually had more reading than she had time and stayed in the living room in order to work.

They sat down to eat between 6:15 and 6:30, and like clockwork every night, Ruby called at 7:00 sharp. Whether Regina had finished eating or not, she always answered the call, allowed Henry a moment to say hello to his aunts, and then excused herself from the table. She poured herself a tall glass of wine during the small talk and disappeared onto the back deck or her study.

They washed the dishes and then returned to the table with their books until they finished or until Henry's bedtime at 9. If they finished early, Henry read her one of his books or they wasted time on something frivolous like t.v. or Xbox. If Regina went to her study, she appeared every so often and slipped out the backdoor wordlessly, phone pressed tightly to her ear. Emma suspected that she went out to smoke but never called her out on it.

At 9 on the dot, Regina emerged from the bedroom or back deck with an empty wine glass and a heavy heart. They tucked Henry in together, and after 9 o'clock, they followed whatever whim struck them. Sometimes Regina was so upset that she broke down and cried herself to sleep in Emma's arms. Sometimes she was so angry that she shoved Emma against a wall and fucked her silly until her knees buckled and her muscles went numb from pleasure endorphins. Sometimes they watched television and cuddle in bed. Sometimes they talked about their day. And on the really bad nights, they made slow passionate love until dawn, just like they had the day Regina asked her to carry her heart all those months ago.

On Saturday and Sunday, Regina rose at the crack of dawn and juiced herself with caffeine in preparation of Henry's habit of waking early while Emma slept in. They ate pancakes and bacon, and then Regina left a post-it note on the coffee pot stating that hers was in the microwave before heading out to the backyard or some adventure in the city. The note was unnecessary as it said the exact same words every single time, but Emma's heart also warmed at the sight every single time, so she'd said nothing on the subject.

_Your fried flour cakes and grease sticks are in the microwave. Stay out of the cookies. I love you. -R-_

Emma smiled and pictured Regina's perfect cursive script in her mind as she pulled into the parking lot of their favorite café. It reminded them of Granny's, so they ate lunch here as often as possible for the small comfort of home it gave them. She hustled to the other side of the car and offered Regina her hand just as the door swung open. She had spent a few weeks timing her pace perfectly in order to be at Regina's side just as the door opened to the maximum width.

Regina had scowled in irritation for a while, but soon she came to enjoy Emma's chivalry and old-fashioned displays of respect and affection. Emma never compromised her independence or dignity. She made a statement: This woman in my car is a fucking lady and will be respected or I will cut someone. Once Regina figured out her goal, she actually looked forward to Emma's heartwarming if antiquated antics. During an argument in the earlier weeks about this very subject, Emma confessed that not only did she want to show respect to Regina but she wanted to set an example for their son, teach him through action and observation instead of lectures of hypothetical principles. The hint of insecurity and quiet conviction in her words caused a reaction within Regina that she'd never dreamed possible; she loved Emma more.

"Mom, can I have a cheeseburger deluxe and onion rings and a strawberry milkshake?" Henry piped the moment the door closed.

"Hey Kid," Emma intervened as Regina reclaimed her position of holding her hand and bicep. "How about we get you a chicken salad and a hot chocolate since you're going be gorging on chips and birthday cake and pop all evening?" Emma compromised.

Henry's shoulders fell. "Can I still get onion rings?" He negotiated, and Emma floundered, not having expected him to push back. He'd been doing that more and more with her recently, and Emma lost her footing as she hadn't quite figured out the rules and sneaky plays of the parent-child bargaining game book yet. Regina chuckled into Emma's shoulder.

"Of course, Sweetheart. I think that's a fantastic compromise," she answered and saved Emma from stuttering. Henry beamed up at his mothers and barreled into the door a few steps ahead of them.

"Henry!" Kahlan, the young waitress about Ruby's age, exclaimed and wrapped the boy into her arms. Emma and Regina shared a look. Charmer.

"Hey Kahlan! Mom said I could have onion rings," he confided as if it were top secret information.

"Is that right?" The girl played along and smiled at the doting mothers over his head.

"Hey Regina. Hey Emma," she greeted them individually and pointed to their usual spot. "It's hard to believe during the lunch rush, but your booth is open. Better hurry before someone else grabs it," she warned and then flitted away when the line cook called her name.

Emma led her family to the booth near the back of the long dining room. Two men looked at them with disgust in their eyes a few booths down, and Emma unconsciously pulled her arm behind her, forcing Regina to other side away from them. Regina squinted at her and then followed her gaze to the perceived threat. They'd had very few problems with homophobia in Boston, less than one hand full to be exact, but occasionally a brazen fool dared to say something to them. Most people were like Kahlan and couldn't have cared less about their orientation.

They were nice, and that meant so much more in such a large city. Their neighbors in Salem also immediately accepted them. They had an incident with their mail carrier the first month they moved in when he witnessed them kissing goodbye on the porch before Regina started her job. Apparently, he'd waited until Emma drove off before saying anything. Luckily, their next door neighbor Felicia, Nathan's mom, witness the whole thing.

She almost intervened when Regina's sass led to a physical altercation, but Regina ripped the guy an entirely new orifice and sent him away with a broken nose and then gracefully asked the stunned housewife if she'd like to join her for a cup of coffee. It was there first interaction, and they became instant friends.

The next week, a new mail carrier started their route. When asked where his predecessor had gone, the young man said he'd switched him routes because he was attacked by a dog and afraid to go near it again. Emma had nearly died laughing when Regina told her the response. This was different, though. They were in public and most importantly, their son would have witnessed the entire ugly scene if the man spoke.

Emma gripped her hand painfully and held her breath as they neared the booth. She released both when they passed without incident. Regina had no doubt that Emma's vigilance and threatening swagger deterred the man from voicing his opinion of their family. They slid into the gigantic booth with their son none the wiser about what nearly occurred. Regina and Henry sat on the side that faced the door. Their shoulders pressed together even though four average-sized adults could have comfortable sat on either side of the spacious booths.

Henry's eyes lit up when the door opened again, and Emma peaked around the corner to see what had excited her son, not that it took much. Two women entered and greeted Kahlan with warm hugs. The brunette had wild, untamed hair and a sidearm attached to her hip, and the blonde woman looked like she might have just come from a runway in New York. After their brief greeting, the brunette set her hand on the small of the blonde's back and escorted her towards them, presumably in search of an empty booth.

"Are you a cop?" Henry blurted when the women were a few feet from the their table. Emma face palmed herself, and Regina sighed. Their son truly had a motor mouth that never stopped.

"I am. I'm a detective," the woman said in a raspy but inviting voice as she stopped beside the table. She looked incredibly familiar, but Emma failed to place where they'd met before.

"Are you a hero?" Henry queried, and the detective faltered. Emma had seen that look before. Clearly, she'd accomplished heroic acts, but she never viewed herself as a hero. The blonde woman answered.

"Detective Rizzoli is most certainly a hero. She's saved my life lots of times," she looked at Henry, but both Emma and Regina realized that she praised and also reminded the other woman of her bravery.

"Rizzoli? Jane Rizzoli? Yeah, that's where I know you from! I'm Emma Swan. I spent a lot of time at your precinct," Emma blurted aloud excitedly. And she wondered where Henry got it from.

"Swan? As in the bounty hunter as beautiful and temperamental as her namesake, Emma Swan?" The detective asked, nearly as excited as Emma was. Regina and the blonde exchanged a confused look and then returned their gaze towards the other women.

"The one and only," Emma smirked arrogantly and shook Rizzoli's offered hand. "This is my partner Regina Mills and our son Henry," Emma introduced with a wave of her hand and a proud grin on her face.

"This is Dr. Maura Isles, my medical examiner," Jane returned the favor of introduction just as proud as Emma.

"You should sit with us!" Henry implored, vibrating in his seat with a rush of adrenaline and excitement.

"Henry," Regina warned and cleared her throat. "You are, of course, more than welcome if it wouldn't be an inconvenience," she directed towards the women. Jane looked at Maura who smiled her approval of the new arrangement and then shrugged.

"Why not?" She said, secretly excited to finally meet the bounty hunter on everyone's wish list.

Emma stood and switched sides, allowing the women the comfort of their own bench sans strangers and bouncing 11-year-olds. Jane tapped her knuckles on the table and laughed.

"Maur, you remember the story Frankie told me when I was in the hospital? The one about the bounty chaser who dragged a mark in by his dread locks, literally? That was this woman," she laughed and shook her head. "I'd have given a whole months' pay to see you drag Little Eddie in by his hair!"

Regina stared at Emma with disbelieving eyes and parted lips. Her expression was unreadable and made Emma's heart pound.

"What?" She defended her actions to her lover. "He pissed me off, so I knock his ass out a moment before I realized I wasn't strong enough to carry him. Little Eddie wasn't really that little," she explained, laughter in her voice. Jane laughed with her. Henry stared in awe, and the two quieter women smiled knowingly at their respective partners. They knew exactly who they were and the physical dangers that found them regularly.

"Where the hell you been, Swan? You just dropped off the map, what about two years ago," Jane asked. Emma and Regina glanced at each other and then their son.

"It's a little complicated," Emma answered, trying to keep her tone light.

"I found her," Henry beamed, clearly proud that Emma was his mom. Emma shrugged.

"I moved to Maine to be with my kid," she answered simply. The truth was so much more complicated.

"And she fell in love with my mom!" Henry elaborated, unaware of the different darker emotions pulling through his mothers. "It's kinda cool now. Mom was the mayor, and Emma was sheriff when Graham died." His voice broke and rasped, evidence of his age, but still held that edge of childish glee that only children and drunk people pulled off. Regina and Emma stiffened at the mention of Graham. It was still a sore spot in their relationship.

Jane pulled back, surprised by the flood of information gushing at her. Maura saved her with a warm hand on her thigh.

"Being mayor sounds wonderful," She commented gently. The conversation had fallen into an uncomfortable vein, but none of the adults wanted to tell the oblivious boy.

"It was. I very much enjoyed the fast pace," Regina latched onto the comment and pushed forward, grateful to the woman.

They all breathed in relief when Kahlan appeared and took their orders. She appeared to know Jane and Maura very well. Jane and Emma were glared at by their partners when they both ordered cheeseburgers while the more reserved women requested salads. They smiled across the table as Henry squawked at the enamored waitress. Freaking Charmer.

"Why were you in the hospital, Detective Rizzoli?" Henry asked respectfully when Kahlan scurried away and the conversation lulled.

"I got shot," Jane answered seriously, not protecting the child from reality, even if she hadn't told him that she'd inflicted the wound herself. If he belonged to Emma Swan, chances were that he knew what was out there in the world. Maura's face tensed and she pressed closer to Jane subconsciously.

"Oh," he looked at his hands for a moment. "Emma got shot, too. That's why Mom stopped being mayor. She wanted to take care of her, and then we came here," he explained. They bent the truth to preserve a small piece of his innocence in the horrible situation. He believed them.

"Damn Swan, you got the real deal, didn't you?" Jane commented seriously before she thought the statement through. Her dark eyes studied Regina's face, a hint of sadness and a lot of respect on her own. Emma smiled shyly. Regina won over everyone now that The Evil Queen wasn't standing over her shoulder and reminding everyone of her dark past.

Maura wrapped her hand around Jane's bicep and propped her chin on her shoulder. "So did you," she whispered near her ear.

She gently reminded Jane of her six-week furlough as Chief Medical Examiner. She spent every second at Jane's side while everyone else returned to work and the real world. She refused to move on until Jane came with her. Jane was her world, and the detective nearly died before either of them realized that. The words were meant for Jane alone even though everyone else heard them. Jane melted a little and grinned lovingly at her partner, and Emma's hand found Regina's thigh beneath the table. They knew that expression, had shared it a thousand times.

"So, you're like a lesbian power couple, too?" Henry asked, nose wrinkled as he tried to comprehend the complex emotions floating around the table. Regina's eyes snapped to their son. Emma face palmed herself, mostly to hide the obnoxious laughter bubbling in her chest. Jane and Maura laughed outright, breaking the tension.

"Yeah, Kid. Guess you could call us that, but don't tell anyone else, alright. We have to keep it a secret because we work together, understand?" Jane leaned in, like she was sharing a secret, which she technically was.

"We should call it Operation Sawfish, cause you're fierce, like Emma and Maura is quiet and sensitive like Mom," Henry whispered as he leaned forward to meet Jane halfway across the table.

"Wait," Regina joined the group and leaned forward, her son's enthusiasm infecting her. "Aren't Sawfish scary and aggressive?" She clarified, genuinely curious. Where did her son get these things?

"Actually, Ms. Mills," Maura started and leaned on her elbows. "The Sawfish, are threatening in self-defense, but they only appear aggressive and hostile because of their long saw-like snouts and inimical names. They are actually quite docile and reclusive creatures," Maura explained, ever the know-it-all, literally.

"I think that sounds perfect, Kid," Emma concurred after hearing the explanation.

"It's settled," Jane said and slapped the table for emphasis. "We are officially Operation Sawfish!" She beamed at Henry who giggled at the attention being lavished on him.

"Mom, Emma, she's like Belle! She knows everything, too!" Henry pointed out, excited to have another brainiac to chat up.

"Aunt Belle always gets my operation names," he stage whispered to Maura who beamed at the compliment and comparison to a woman he clearly looked up to and worshipped if his eyes were any indication. She lowered her eyes and blushed, unused to children taking to her so quickly.

Kahlan arrived with their food, brows pulled tight at the giggles floating around the table. If anyone could make these four damaged women giggle like school girls, it was Henry Mills. She smiled, blew a kiss at the boy and then flitted away again. Henry blushed.

"What do you do now, Ms. Mills?" Maura asked as she cut her salad into smaller pieces, unknowingly mimicking Regina's action. They both smiled shyly when they realized how similar they were.

"Please you must call me Regina, Dr. Isles," Regina broke the silence while everyone else dug into their food. Her tone was light and deadly serious at the same time, and Emma nearly choked on a french fry.

"Only if you call me Maura," the doctor compromised, and Regina nodded without further comment. Emma and Jane shook with laughter.

"Now, I know _that_ was a scene from a Jane Austen novel," Emma barely managed through her laughter, and Jane nodded emphatically as she covered her mouth.

"Oh Emma," Regina chided, chest flushing as she remembered that last time Jane had compared her to an Austen character.

"I like it when you talk like that, Mom. It makes you sound old-fashioned. It's cool," Henry offered, and Regina's face softened at her son. She cleared her throat.

"Thank you, Henry," she said, but the words were pointed and clearly directed towards Emma who grinned at her like a chipmunk with two jaws full of nuts. She rolled her eyes.

"Maura, I'm a paralegal with Blake, Byron and Shelley. I deal mostly with civil cases against the city because of my mayoral experience, including the Boston Police Department and Medical Examiner's office," Regina answered, bereft of pomp and bluster. She took her job seriously but never considered it special. She chewed a bite of salad, figuring enough had been said about her.

"We're very familiar," Maura assured, clearly impressed. "Jane and I have consulted your office many times for various reason. I'm sure you are aware of the situation regarding my birth father?" Regina nodded thoughtfully and chewed her food. "Mrs. Shelley helped me keep my position and title within the BPD, so I heartily appreciate the work you do. Thank you," she finished quietly. She squirmed uncomfortably with the mention of Paddy, but she wanted Regina to know exactly how she helped people and to take pride in it.

"Birth father?" Henry asked around and onion ring. "You're adopted, too?" Maura swallowed and smiled kindly at the boy.

"I am."

"Moooom!" Henry whined. "Can Maura and Jane come over sometime? They're so cool," he finished in a conspicuous whisper.

"Hey Bud, eat your food," Emma intervened. Regina rarely invited anyone into their home. It was her safe place, a place where they talked about magic and evil queens and poisoned apples and sharing hearts, not a place where they entertained guests, barring the random cup of coffee with Felicia and noisy preteen from the neighborhood.

"Yes, Emma," he hung his head and pushed his house salad around the plate with his fork. Emma felt a little guilty and hid her face in her burger. She hated breaking his heart, but she assumed the responsibility of parenting equally with Regina.

"Henry, perhaps another time," Regina countered and locked eyes with Maura. "Once I've returned from Maine, and if the idea is agreeable to Maura and Detective Rizzoli," she said, leaving the decision in their hands. The doctor understood her meaning perfectly. She'd been adopted, too, and if her influence helped the bright and loving child, she would have gone home with them tonight.

"I'd love to come to your house, Henry," Maura encouraged the boy and snatched up the offer the second it was thrown onto the table. She reached across the table and touched his hand. His downtrodden face tightened and dared to show the hint of a triumphant grin.

"I want to know all about you. I read a lot when I was your age," the awkward woman confided and then leaned into the table conspiratorially. "That's the reason I know everything," she confided with a wink.

Emma and Jane snorted at the statement but offered nothing else as they watched their adopted son and partner connect on a level they couldn't understand. Emma had been in the system, but she was never adopted. As much as she tried, she simply failed to empathize with her son's inability to reconcile with her as his birth mother. He loved her, considered her a parent, but there was still a lot of anger about his abandonment, despite the reasons behind it. Maura understood him.

"I think that's a great idea. What do you say, Jane?" Emma conceded now that she fully grasped the underlying ripple and brought the conversation back from the dark place it had ventured. Jane sniffed and wiped her nose with a smile.

"You like beer?" She answered Emma's question with a question.

"God yes," Emma laughed. She needed one right now, in fact.

"Good. I'll bring the beer. You grill the burgers," Jane ordered and shoved some fries into her mouth.

Maura and Regina smiled shyly at each other again. The conversation shifted as Henry latched onto a different subject and chattered excitedly. The women mostly listened to the little charmer, Maura answering questions as quickly as they were thrown at her. They learned all about his Aunt Belle and Aunt Ruby, how they weren't actually his aunts and also how blood didn't matter that much when family was involved, about his end of the year project for school and how much he liked science because it was like doing magic.

Emma and Regina held hands beneath the table and observed their son in all his glory. They had done good, and they knew it. Bringing him to Boston was the best decision they'd ever made as parents, except of course when they decided to share him. By the end of lunch, they exited the diner on a high. They felt good, fuller than they had before entering, and it had little to do with the food. They were so blissfully normal and happy and in love, and it just felt good. It gave them hope that, whatever happened back in Storybrooke, their relationship thrived and pulled them through. Their love was stronger than curses and noisy tourists, and they'd return to Boston after saving the day.

They lived the only life either of them had ever wanted.


	2. Why Do You Blush So?

Hello Sweet Doves! So I just basically had this dream, woke up in a pool sweat with my heart pounding, and my mind absolutely refused to go back to sleep until I wrote it for you guys… because this should always be shared, no matter what. It is my very first SQ dream that I've ever had… actually, it is the first dream I've ever had of this nature about fictional characters period. Must be a testament to my absolute love of writing them. Anyway, there is actually very little plot in this chapter, just a couple things. Small things. Like enough for it to be considered not there.

Aw hell, it's pure, unadulterated smut that follows my dream as closely as I remember the details.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Unconditionally by Katy Perry, Let's Go (Geronimo) by Audiogroove

* * *

Regina rose the next morning as she always did to put Henry on the bus. She "accidentally" hit the snooze button, and Emma grumbled and threw her pillow violently at the alarm clock when it sounded again. Regina grinned from the bathroom door, amused at the childish antics of her lover. Even just a few months ago, such tantrum-like displays would have pissed her off, but they were so indubitably Emma-reactions, and she'd grown to find them endearing rather than irritating.

She moved to the bed, toothbrush still moving in her mouth, and picked it off the floor. She doubled checked it to make sure that it was completely off this time. It had done it's trick of semi-awakening her lover. She grinned wickedly, or what would have been wickedly if a plastic rod with bristles wasn't hanging out her mouth. Her stomach jerked in arousal as her gaze moved to the closet, thoughts on what had been sitting in there for a few months. She shook her head and forced herself back to the bathroom, knowing that coffee needed to be consumed and Henry roused.

She spit, rinsed, and slipped out of her silk pajama top but left her pants. Normally, she'd have never dreamed of running through her house with only a robe separating her from her son, but this morning, her body betrayed her need for modesty. The slippery silk slid against her already taut nipples, exacerbating her arousal much more than the fluffy grey robe. Her shirt would have put them on display for anyone within a 30 foot radius, anyway, and while she was comfortable being a sexual being, Felicia probably didn't need to see her hardened nipples.

Regina made coffee out of habit, but her hands shook already from excitement and adrenaline, so she skipped it and made Henry scrambled eggs and toast. As per usual, the boy stood in the middle of his room, nearly ready for school by the time she knocked. Where he'd obtained his early morning habits were beyond her because neither she nor Emma enjoyed rising early.

"Breakfast is ready, Sweetheart," Regina informed him quietly.

"Be out in a minute," he answered, sleep still in his eyes and voice. She nodded and turned to leave.

"Mom?" He called after her, and she immediately stepped into the room expectantly, attention fully on her child.

"Does it bother you that I want to talk to Maura about being adopted?" He asked, clearly worried that she'd be angry, and perhaps a year ago she might have been. Her face softened, shoulders falling.

"Henry," she started before taking his hand and leading him to the bed. Her elbow rested lightly on his shoulder as her fingers smoothed the hair sticking out in all directions.

"To answer your question, no, it doesn't bother me. I think talking to an adult who truly understands what you're feeling is a really positive thing. I will support you no matter what you decide, you know that right?" He nodded, and she hugged him from the side.

"Good. Emma and I love you so much, more than anything in this world. You brought us together and gave us hope and a future. You're more than everything that I ever wanted in a child, and I am thankful everyday that you found me. I do want to ask one thing of you, however. Don't shut us out. It's okay to speak with Maura, and it's perfectly acceptable to keep some secrets with her. I think I trust her with that, but we need to know what's going on in that brilliant mind of yours, too. We can't be there for you if we don't." her voice wavered, and she took a deep breath, pushing forward.

"You can be mad at us, Henry. It's okay, I promise. You can be mad or sad or happy, and we will always be right here, loving you no matter what. We'll work through it with you, but you have to let us in first. Do you understand?" Regina asked gently, knowing the words she'd just said weren't easy to hear. They weren't easy to say, but Henry had needed to hear them.

"I am angry," he said quietly, head hung in shame at his words, but offered nothing else.

"I know, Sweetheart. We both know," Regina comforted and pressed a kiss to her son's hair.

"When you're ready to tell us about it, we're ready to listen. And we will listen, I promise. At some point, I or Emma might get upset, but I want to tell you right now that we won't get upset at you. We'll be upset because we've done things to cause you pain. We'll be upset at ourselves but not you." Regina kissed his head again and allowed her lips to linger until Henry decided to pull away.

He surprised her when he flung himself into her chest instead. She wrapped her arms around him without hesitation and held him tight. He was getting too old for these types of hugs, but she wanted to keep him this age forever. They both pulled back with tears in their eyes when an alarm on Regina's phone indicated that it was time for Henry to go to the bus stop. Regina shut off the alarm and returned the phone to the pocket of her robe. She wiped his tears and then own, an emotional smile on her lips.

"I'll give you some extra money. You can get breakfast at school if you want," Regina assured and then slipped out of the room to retrieve the cash.

She shoved it into his backpack as they walked towards the front door. She kissed his cheek and smoothed his hair one more time before he pulled away and ran towards the bus. It had just arrived, and he skidded to a stop at the back of line with only two more children in front of him. Regina crossed her arms over her chest and watched until the bus shuddered and shook as it took off.

"Running behind?" Felicia called from across the waist height red-plank fence that separated their properties.

"Only a few minutes," Regina answered as she turned and walked to the opposite end of the porch. She leaned her elbows on the high railing, and Felicia mimicked her position on the fence.

"Want a cup of coffee before you head off?" She offered sincerely, and normally, Regina accepted.

"Another time. Emma finished her exams yesterday, and I took off work today to celebrate with her," Regina explained, trying her best to keep a suggestive tone out of her voice. Apparently, she failed.

"I see," Felicia said with raised eyebrows and a knowing smirk. Regina's face, chest and neck blotched immediately with red spots. Felicia laughed out loud at the silent reaction. Regina cleared her throat.

"I have a favor to ask, if I may?" Regina forced out, pulling the conversation into a comfortable vein.

"I'll help if I can. What's up?" She said easily, and the reaction caught Regina off guard. She hadn't become accustomed to people actually liking her yet, not after years of being scorned openly. She cleared her throat again.

"I'll be out of town until next weekend. I'm going to freeze some meals for Emma and Henry, but nothing short of my being here will ensure they actually eat them. Could you just keep an eye on them for me, make sure the pizza delivery person isn't here every night? Maybe remind Emma to set alarms for school. She's terribly stubborn to rise in the morning. She's not quite used to being a mother yet," Regina admitted, almost too quietly for Felicia to hear at the small distance.

Aside from Jane and Maura yesterday, Felicia remained the only other person who knew of their extraordinary story of becoming a family. Regina found that it helped tremendously to talk with the other woman about Emma's near-death experience and how Henry took off to find his birth mother and subsequently their falling in love. She supported Regina as a friend should, and while the affection made Regina terribly uncomfortable, she had come to care a great deal for the stay-at-home mother and housewife.

"I can definitely help you out with that. In fact, if you and Emma prefer, Henry can eat with us next week, maybe stay a few nights. There's only a few more weeks of school, so I don't see the harm in bending the no sleepovers on school nights rule. I'm sure Emma is perfectly capable of getting by, but I know how exhausting college is. I can't image being a new mother and navigating a new committed relationship on top of it, and that's not mentioning everything else your family is dealing with. She seems to have handled it with a certain grace. She deserves a few days to herself to rest and recover," Felicia empathized with her partner, and Regina smiled gratefully at the woman. She should have been a psychologist.

"That's Emma. She puts everyone else first, always has no matter the cost to her," Regina admitted darkly, an image of Emma's pale face and bright red blood on the floor of Storybrooke Town Hall flashing through her mind. She never fully disclosed the details of the incident to her friend, only that Emma had taken a bullet for her while they acted as mayor and sheriff.

"I'm beginning to see that," Felicia concurred with a bright smile.

She hadn't really spent much time with Emma, but she observed her interactions with Henry and Regina. No matter how dark the circles under her eyes became or how heavy her exhausted muscles seemed, the former sheriff attended every birthday party, block party, dinner party and social or school event with conviction and dedication.

A few months ago, Felicia sat a few rows back in the school auditorium for the awards ceremony for the science fair. Henry placed first in his category, and her own son Nathan placed second. Emma's head nodded and jerked as she fought sleep, but she remained awake until her son was announced, cheered and clapped with genuine enthusiasm and then passed out on Regina's shoulder a few moments later until the end of the long and rather boring ceremony. She wasn't as friendly with her as Regina, but Felicia liked and respected the woman just as much anyway.

"I'm happy to help out with Henry any way I can while you're away. Talk it over with her and shoot me a text letting me know what you decide. You know, after you've celebrated, of course," she added with a wink, grinning as rouge spots spontaneously erupted on Regina's cheeks and chest in a split second. Damn, what did Emma Swan do to her in bed to cause that blush? Regina Mills was anything but a prude, so it must be something pretty damn fantastic to cause such a dramatic involuntary reaction.

"Thank you, Felicia," Regina rasped. "I'll speak with you this afternoon before we leave," Regina promised, smiled shyly and then waved as she disappeared into the house.

Regina locked the door behind her and untied her robe as she walked through the house. It fell to the floor the moment she reached the bedroom, and she kicked it to the side as she shut the door with unnecessary force. Her silk pants joined it a few moments later as did the comforter bunched at Emma's hips. Emma groaned as a sudden shiver pulled her awake and then sighed when Regina's warm body replaced the blanket.

Regina straddled her hips and slid her hands beneath Emma's white tank top, feeling every inch of her stomach, cupping her breasts for one teasing second before moving back to her waist. Emma cracked an eye, not fully comprehending the entire situation yet. Regina raised her weight to her knees and slipped her left hand beneath Emma's neck as she pressed her lips into Emma's. Her elbow and forearm took the rest of her weight.

Her lover responded after a moment, and Regina smiled into the kiss. She gave it a moment to heat up and then slipped her other hand into the stretchy hem of Emma's basketball shorts. Emma's eyes shot open, suddenly wide awake when she slid two fingers on either side of her clit and squeezed lightly. She moved her fingers slowly up and down, dipping the tip of her middle finger into Emma and testing her wetness on each downward stroke.

"Oh god, please don't be a dream," Emma pleaded. She and Regina hadn't made love in over a week because of her exams, and she was wound up and raring to go almost instantly. Her body told Regina the exact same thing as each stroke pulled more hot liquid from within Emma.

Emma finally came completely alive with a gasp when Regina entered her with one finger. When she added the second, Emma buried her hands in Regina's hair at the scalp and tugged gently. Regina sighed at the delicious tendrils of heat that pulled into her stomach at Emma's passion and built a steady rhythm. Emma's hands where everywhere and nowhere all at once as she moaned and undulated with the fingers inside her.

They slapped the headboard when a third finger stretched her, filling her completely. Gripped Regina's shoulder painfully when her walls clenched around her lover's fingers the first time. Palmed Regina's breasts when she felt slightly guilty a moment for only taking and not giving any pleasure, and then returned to Regina's hair as her shoulders lifted from the bed. Her neck and face strained with the effort, eyes and mouth wide open as she came undone.

Regina followed her down, covering the sweat-dampened body with her own. She cupped the back of Emma's neck and kissed her jaw, one hand trapped between them. Every time Emma calmed, she wiggled her fingers against that rough patch of skin inside and pulled back to watch another wave of pleasure ripple through the woman beneath her. She pulled it free when no more waves rocked against her body and kissed her lover gently, waiting patiently. Emma always took a minute to recover, but she never disappointed.

"Good morning, Darling," Regina whispered into her ear breathily.

"Yes, it is," Emma stated matter-of-factly and trailed her hands down Regina's shoulders and sides, gripping her waist tenderly.

Regina hadn't gained weight, necessarily, but she'd become softer, fuller in figure since moving to Boston. It was evidence of her age and the proof that Emma needed to confirm her theory that the magic on Storybrooke somehow maintained everyone's physical appearance. It was slight, barely there, and a casual observer probably wouldn't even have noticed it. Emma had, though she hadn't commented on it, afraid to make Regina self-conscious about her weight. Emma loved it. Regina felt more feminine, softer, and it made Emma want to climb the walls with desire for the woman, especially when she watched her cook. It suited her personality so much better, and Emma's new favorite place to put her hands was definitely on her partner's waist.

"I have to pee," Emma groaned. Morning sex rarely worked out the way it was supposed to, unfortunately.

"I figured as much," Regina stated evenly, trying not to be annoyed by the normal bodily function.

"I can wait," Emma decided and pulled on Regina's waist. Regina sat up and stared down at her, confused about what she wanted.

"Come here," Emma pointed at her face. Regina's eyes widened. They'd never tried that before.

"Are you certain?" She asked and swallowed roughly. Anxiety slipped into her stomach and turned to a burning throb when Emma jerked on her hips insistently.

She allowed Emma's hands to guide her hips to the proper position and grabbed the headboard for balance. All of her fear and nerves disappeared, however, the moment the wet heat of Emma's tongue plunged inside of her. She gasped, head falling backwards. She froze when her hips rolled into Emma's face involuntarily, but her lover reassured her with firm hands on her butt and a confident swipe of her tongue.

Regina fully gave herself over to the new position after that. She trusted Emma to pull her back if she injured her. Something primal awoke inside of her as her hips rolled and the muscles in her lower stomach clenched. Two fingers replaced Emma's tongue inside as the wet muscle moved to her engorged nub. Emma sucked with her lips and allowed Regina's hip motions to impale her on the stiff fingers.

She added a third and sucked harder when the velvet walls clenched around fingers. Regina slumped onto the headboard, hips bucking and jerking uncontrollably. Emma wrapped her free arm around her lower back, preparing for her climax, and slammed her fingers into Regina repeatedly. She'd come to recognize that Regina liked a slow and gentle build up that drove her nuts and then a big finish with a little pain.

Less than a minute later, she stilled and pressed the crown of her head into the wood. Emma watched her come undone from the new angle with wonder. Her mouth was open in a silent scream that she rarely vocalized, eyes shut tightly, forehead bunched. Emma loved this part best.

She pulled her fingers free and shimmied upwards, somehow nudging Regina's knees far enough for her shoulders to fit, and leaned against the headboard. Regina caught up a few seconds later and lowered her hips to the ones beneath her. Her arms fell around Emma's shoulders as she pressed their bodies together and hid her face in blonde hair. Emma wiped Regina's juice from her face with one hand and held Regina's back with the other.

She tried to pull back when Regina's chest vibrated lightly against hers, but the tightened arms around her only pulled them both back. Was Regina crying? She'd never cried during or after sex, not since the night they'd spent hours making love. Those tears weren't because of the sex. They were scared of losing each other and Ruby and Henry and basically everyone they cared about when Cora terrorized Storybrooke. Had she really not wanted to try the new position? Emma panicked.

"Regina," she whispered. "Baby? Babe, talk to me. I'm freaking out," she confessed, and Regina released her death grip and sat back.

"Regina?" She tucked dark hair behind her lover's ears and studied her face. The vein in Regina's forehead throbbed with emotion, but there was a smile on her lips. Emma was confused.

"Talk to me," she pleaded, but the words only caused more tears to spill onto Regina's flushed cheeks.

"Happy," she choked and waved at her face. "I'm here, Emma," she finished and then dropped her head onto Emma's shoulder as her emotions ran out of control again. Emma calmed with the new knowledge and rubbed her lover's back silently. She hadn't hurt her, at least that was something for the moment. She calmed a few minutes later and turned shy caramel-colored eyes to green.

"You make me so happy, Emma," she started and paused to press a tear-filled kiss to her lover's lips. "So many lovers have feared my sexuality. I don't know how to do things halfway. But you," she whined as emotion stole her voice again. She took a deep breath. Emma waited with wide green eyes.

"You just accept it. The pain, my sometimes positively primal reactions. I know I can be rough at times, and when it's too much, you always pull me back in a way that doesn't make me feel as though I've done something wrong," Regina confessed reverently.

She slid down Emma's thighs, wrapped her arms around her waist, and laid her head on her chest. Emma waited, unsure what to say. What do you possibly say to your soul mate when she finally figured out that you love her unconditionally?

"You make me feel beautiful, Emma," her deep, raspy whisper vibrated against her chest, and Emma tightened her arms around her lover's back.

"You are beautiful," she answered into her hair and pressed her lips to her head, holding them there. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Emma's bladder protested loudly. She squirmed subtly, trying to find a new position with less pressure on the organ. She failed. Damn it.

"Regina, I really have to pee," Emma whined, and then nearly whimpered when Regina sat up and rolled to the other side of the bed. She missed her warmth immediately and not the physical kind.

She stripped off her tank top and kicked her shorts to the wall. Once naked, she leaned her elbows onto her knees and dropped her head to her hands. She could have gone back to sleep if Regina allowed it. Knowing her partner, though, she anticipated being jumped again the moment she emerged. She cleaned herself thoroughly with soap and water after doing her more necessary business. The thought of Regina going down on her right after using the bathroom without washing made her nose wrinkle in slight disgust. She surely wouldn't have wanted to do it.

"I washed. I promise," she called as she jerked the door open but stopped short at the sight that awaited.

Regina sat at the edge of the bed, reading a small piece of paper with a completely assembled strap-on harness. They'd bought it a few months ago on a whim, but after a few weeks of sitting in the box on their dresser, it was tossed into the back of the closet. Regina hadn't felt comfortable using it, so they gave up the idea. Guess that changed this morning.

"I think I'd like to try," she said simply without looking up from the paper. "It says to use lubrication if your partner is inexperienced with such devices," she relayed seriously, and finally looked up from the paper.

"Did you seriously just read the instruction manual for a strap-on?" Emma laughed and finally moved towards the bed. Of course Regina read the instructions.

"Emma please," Regina chided anxiously. "If you make fun, it can go back into the closet. I've never heard of such a contraption until we moved to Boston. Not many lesbians in The Enchanted Forest," Regina warned her, and Emma clamped her mouth shut and nodded.

"I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely and then leaned down to kiss her lover as she grabbed the leather harness. She straightened and studied it seriously. "Soooo, who is wearing this?" She really wanted to laugh, but by the grace of something holy, she held it in.

"I…what do you think?" Regina asked seriously. "Perhaps… if you wouldn't mind," Regina stuttered, and Emma hushed her when she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I got this," she smirked cockily, sensing Regina's need for her to take control of the situation. "As soon as I figure out how to get it on," she laughed at herself after struggling for a few minutes with the different buckles and straps. Regina overcame her nerves and helped Emma adjust everything, pulling the adjustable buckles at Emma's hips snug.

"How does it feel?" She asked, staring up at her lover.

"Like I'm glad I don't have to carry around this much weight down there all the time," she laughed at herself, knowing the joke spawned from nerves. She almost removed the harness until Regina caught her eyes. They were so full and trusting and loving, and Regina wanted this. It couldn't hurt to try, right? Worst case scenario: it doesn't work out and they use their fingers and tongues.

She knelt in front of Regina, nerves forgotten, and kissed her. Hands and lips touched and kissed and caressed and pinched and nipped until they both forgot why they were nervous in the first place and Emma was suddenly atop Regina on the bed. She faltered for a moment, but Regina spread her knees and reached for her.

"Wait," Regina stopped her suddenly as she awkwardly positioned the head at her entrance.

She pushed Emma onto her back and snagged the small bottle of lubrication that had come with their new toy and squirted a copious amount onto the head. She tossed the bottle to the floor and straddled Emma who swallowed roughly. Regina just took charge, and she prayed that she had enough energy and physical strength to keep up. She nodded her acquiescence when they locked eyes, and Regina lowered herself onto the average size shaft.

Her eyes darkened with her pleasure, and Emma breathed a sigh of relief. So far so good. She nodded again, letting Regina know that she felt fine. Like always, Regina started slowly and built her pace slowly. The bouncing weight on Emma's hips was uncomfortable but nothing she wanted to stop and address, not when Regina's head fell backwards and a slight moan escaped her mouth and not when a ribbed pad on the harness rubbed her clit with every movement.

After a few minutes, she shook herself from her enthralled stupor and brushed her thumb over Regina's clit. She fell forward, barely catching herself on her elbows instead of smacking her head on Emma's. Their lips met roughly as they adjusted to the new position. Regina moved after only a moment, and Emma grabbed her hips, impaling her with solid thrusts, able to move her hips now that the extra weight had been removed. Regina cried out and bit into Emma's neck in attempt to silence her pleasure sounds.

"Too hard, Baby," Emma winced, faltered in her hip movements, sighed when the pressure released on her neck, and then forced Regina's hips against hers violently. Regina cried out again. What the hell?

Regina squeaked when Emma flipped her onto the bed and reentered her before she realized what happened. She hadn't a clue what she was doing, but Regina continued to moan and yell encouragements. Emma watched, listened and moved her hips. She'd already experienced two mini orgasms beneath the ridges of the harness, and Regina's unabashed noises and gestures worked her into a third.

She latched onto Regina's nipple when her climax stopped her movements. Regina growled and fisted her hair, clearly irritated. How could she have known that Emma was racking up orgasms that were growing in strength each time? Emma bit the hardened nub in her mouth and slammed their hips together. Regina's irritation had irritated her, and Emma filled her with firm, confident strokes intended to shut her up. It had the opposite effect.

"Fuck!" Regina came off the bed and grabbed Emma's shoulders. The blonde had no choice but to follow her down. She adjusted quickly and felt the resistance of Regina's velvet walls laboring each thrust more.

Nails tore into her back, Regina's only movement as her climax tore through her. Emma allowed her a moment to catch her breath and then slammed into her again a few more times, smirking when Regina tensed once more and then…

"Emma. Emma, fuck. No more. Emma. I can't." The nonsensical words were spoken in a rasping whisper, barely audible but than Regina had ever said before during an orgasm.

Emma pulled the silicon shaft from her lover and loosened the straps at her hip. Regina gasped when another tremor pulled through her at the movement. She reached for Emma, unable to open her eyes, and whimpered when she came up empty-handed. Tears burned her throat a second before Emma slid into her arms and kissed her sweaty temple as she pulled the comforter over them.

"Hey, I'm here," Emma whispered. "I just wanted to get the blanket cause you always get cold after," she explained further as Regina snuggled into her chest with an arm tossed limply over her stomach. Emma traced her forearm and back with light fingertips.

"That was…vocal," she babbled absently. "I think you made more noise today than the past eight months combined. We should definitely do this more often if that's the reaction."

"Not it, you," Regina replied breathily, chest still heaving from their early morning activities. Emma moved her head to the side to see Regina's face but winced and settled against the pillow when her neck pinched and burned where Regina had bitten it.

"I said before, you make me feel beautiful. It's easy to let go when you don't have any doubts holding you back," she elaborated, sounding a little more like herself, and adjusted her head on Emma's chest. "It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I'm very expressive vocally," she finished with a flick of her wrist that Emma imagined would have been a wave of her hand had she more energy.

Emma pressed her lips to Regina's head again, and resumed the soft caresses on Regina's back. Their eyes closed quickly, an unspoken agreement passing between them that they required a nap in order to recover properly.

"I love you," Regina offered sleepily.

"Love you," Emma returned, already slipping into a contented slumber. Regina gave up any pretense of moving for the next few hours and followed.


	3. Welcome Back to Storybrooke

Greetings Sweet Doves! The fluff has been fun while it lasted, but alas, it must go. This will be the last of its kind for a the time being.

Enjoy!

Songs: I Need a Hero by Jennifer Saunders, Don't Deserve You by Plumb, Supergirl by Majestee of Sweden

* * *

Emma groaned as she came awake. Her hand reached for Regina and came up empty. Confused, her eyes cracked and slammed shut against the bright light peeping around the curtains of their bedroom. Regina never left the bed after sex, at least not before waking her. Her eyes cracked again and focused on the blurry number of the alarm clock. The red numbers glaringly told her that it was after noon, and she jerked up, gasping at the pinching pain in her neck. It throbbed in beat with her pulse, and she brushed light fingertips over the mark with a wince. Ow.

She groaned and rolled out of bed, catching herself on her feet at the last second and stood. Her legs were wobbly and her hips protested the weight. Good god, what had Regina done to her? She stumbled to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. She felt good, satisfied, even if she ached. She squinted into the medicine cabinet mirror at the mark on her neck. Damn it, Regina. A perfect set of teeth with a circle of white in the center and purple around the outside marred her otherwise clear skin.

She stopped long enough to pull on a bra and a pair of panties and her glasses, just in case the blinds in the rest of the house were up, and jerked open the door of the bedroom. She was on a mission, and a bikini attire suited her fine. Let the neighbors gawk, she challenged in her mind. They all wished their wives looked this good. Emma smirked and then cleared her mind. She was supposed to be angry.

"Regina! I swear to god, if you did this just because I would be seeing my parents tonight, I will… Felicia!" Emma stopped in the middle of the dining room, angry tirade forgotten in light of Felicia's amused eyes and gaping mouth.

Regina sat on the other side of the island and blushed profusely, hiding her face behind her coffee cup. Her eyes, however, traced every inch of her lover. Emma wasn't shy and certainly had no issues with Felicia seeing her in her under things, but the topic of her ire had embarrassed them both. She hadn't wanted to get up, but Felicia came knocking about 30 minutes ago. Regina kicked herself for sleeping in so long.

Felicia gasped when her eyes landed on Emma's scars. They had faded over the months, but the small jagged bullet hole and incisions were clearly visible in such a short distance. Regina stiffened, and Emma covered her stomach with a hand. Felicia lowered her eyes to her hands in her lap respectfully.

"Uhh, hey," Emma jerked her thumb over her shoulder and stepped backwards. "I'm just going to go put some clothes on, then," she said awkwardly and turned to do just that.

"Darling, you might want to forego your tank top and wear a t-shirt since we will in fact be seeing your idiot parents tonight," Regina offered, unable to keep her amusement out of her voice. Emma froze as she remember Regina's nails digging into her back during her last orgasm.

Regina tried and failed to stop the chuckle that vibrated in her throat when Emma whipped around and glared at her. Felicia covered her mouth, having glanced up at the mention of slightly bloody scratch marks on her shoulder blade. She sensed that Regina embarrassed her lover further in order to pull her back from the darker thoughts that had descended upon them, and she enjoyed seeing the normally so guarded and stoic blonde in this position. Regina saved her by standing and moving to the coffee pot.

"Darling, clothe yourself before Felicia's persuasion shifts and leads her astray from her husband," Regina jabbed at her friend who stared at her lover's exquisitely toned body. Emma insisted on staying in tip top shape, despite not being a law enforcement officer anymore. She had plenty of time in between classes to use the free gym services that her school offered and did so as often as possible.

Felicia's face turned bright red, matching her naturally red-ish orange hair. Emma raised an eyebrow, smirk spreading slowly, and backed away from the other two women, only turning when she reached the door of the dining room. Regina fixed Emma's coffee and shook her head at her partner's cocky behavior. Of course Emma Swan offered an adoring fan an extended look.

"Damn Regina, you two are 100 percent monogamous?" She joked with a hint of genuine curiosity. Regina chuckled and retuned to her stool with Emma's coffee.

"While I have no aversion to the idea of an open relationship, I have no desire to be with anyone else, and Emma is far too loyal to stray and too old-fashioned to consider anything polyamorous," Regina answered honestly with a smug grin. Emma was hers and hers alone. She needed nothing as useless as jealousy when it came to Emma Swan.

"You may have found the last decent person in this world," Felicia said reverently, wishing her husband showed half as much interest and loyalty in her as Emma did Regina. It wasn't that she was discontented with her life, but as she settled into her sexual prime, she longed to feel his hands far more often than she did and found herself much more open-minded in terms of her sexuality. Why women couldn't have peaked in their 20's like men was far beyond her understanding. She sighed and smiled at Regina.

"Perhaps you and Danny might consider an open relationship," Regina tossed onto the table and sipped her coffee.

Emma's boots tapping against the hardwood silenced their conversation, but Felicia considered the suggestion seriously as she had many times before. Emma swaggered into the kitchen without her glasses and in dark blue skinny jeans, black boots and a heather grey t-shirt that hugged her torso in all the right places. Her hair had been brushed but still framed her face in soft but wild curves. She rarely pulled it back anymore, not when she knew how often Regina's hands found it like a magnet to a piece of metal.

Felicia's eyes wandered to her covered stomach and tensed. Emma had truly taken a bullet for the woman she loved. She understood and believed the words when Regina confided in her, but it hadn't actually dawned on her what it truly meant until she'd seen the scars.

"Hello again," Emma cleared her throat and snagged her coffee, not making eye contact with either woman. She sat Regina's phone on the counter in place of her mug. "Rubes called. Told her you'd call her back in a bit."

"Did she mention if it was urgent?" Regina asked and touched the phone with two fingers.

"Uhhh, something about getting you drunk off your ass and pranking my parents. Oh, and Belle discovered a new book series… uhhhh, Terry something. Sword of Truth series, I think she said, but she wanted us to read it first before she bought a set for Henry, so we're getting homework," Emma said as she rummaged around the cabinet for a granola bar. Her stomach growled and protested the lack of sustenance, and she hadn't felt like cooking or asking Regina to make her something since Felicia had come over.

Her demeanor was neutral as it normally was around the adults of the neighborhood. She was much more reserved and quiet than Regina in that respect, but if you put her in a room or a backyard with a bunch of children around Henry's age, her eyes brightened as her soul came to life. She was a good mother, even if she hadn't realized it yet.

Regina preferred meeting and greeting and helping with the events while partially interacting with the children like every other adult on their street, but Emma blatantly avoided the other parents unless they spoke to her first. She confessed to Regina one night after a block party that she feared being judged for her past because she'd given Henry up for adoption. They hadn't told many people about Henry's birth and subsequent adoption. In fact, Regina had only told Felicia, but Henry was very vocal and proud that he'd found his birth mother and that his mothers had fallen in love because of him, so practically everyone knew.

After that night, Regina stopped pushing Emma to socialize with the other parents. Emma only worried what Henry thought of her for the most part anyway, and if she wanted to spend hours chasing around a bunch of kids with foam swords and squirt guns, then Regina gave her the option free of judgment and expectation. One day, Emma might realize that most everyone respected her for fully throwing herself into parenthood when she had no obligation to do so, even if she missed the first ten years.

"Emma, I left some sautéed mushrooms and broccoli for your omelet in the skillet," Regina informed her and put the constantly ravished woman out of her misery.

"Goddess," Emma praised, switched on the gas burner beneath the still warm skillet that contained the veggies and olive oil, and sipped her coffee at the same time.

Her head bopped up and down with an unheard tune, her body relaxing now that a task required completion and relieved her of the obligation of speaking to Felicia. Regina smiled shyly when her hips began moving as she sashayed from stove to fridge. She had no doubt she and Henry would be singing that very song in a few hours when they had hit the road. Felicia twitched, knowing she was invading their personal space, and Regina refocused on the redhead.

"Darling, Felicia has graciously offered to help out with Henry while I am away," Regina started slowly, unsure how Emma was going to respond.

"Okay," she said, head buried in the fridge in search of eggs. She pulled back with three in one hand and studied the other two women a moment before wordlessly moving to the stove.

"Help out how?" She pushed forward wearily. Regina hadn't trusted her to take care of their son properly, and she fought valiantly against the stab of disappointment towards herself.

"Emma," Regina's voice flowed quietly into her ear. Had Regina actually moved that quietly or had she blocked everything out for a moment? She whisked her eggs and waited for Regina to continue.

"Emma, I know you will be perfectly fine, but considering your knowledge of cooking has only recently gained omelets and burgers, I thought perhaps it would help if Henry had dinner at Felicia and Danny's. Exams just ended. You're exhausted. I know you would benefit from a few days to yourself, Darling. That's all," Regina explained gently, unsure how to tell Emma that it was her decision this week how much Felicia involved herself.

"Whatever you think is best," Emma clipped and dumped the bowl into the skillet.

"Actually, it is whatever you think best, Darling," Regina countered and smiled tenderly when Emma's surprised eyes glanced over her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around Emma's waist and hooked her chin on the strong shoulder at the perfect height for such a position.

"I fully intend to focus all of my energy on Ruby and Belle this week, so think of this as my way of taking care of you while I am gone because I am leaving our hyper little boy and all parenting decisions in your very capable hands for the next seven days," Regina elaborated, smile growing with each word as she saw the belief grow in Emma's bright green eyes.

"I suck at cooking," Emma acknowledged and handed Regina the spatula. Emma removed her body from Regina's arms and leaned her hips against the counter as the older woman flipped her omelet without comment.

Regina's phone lit up as did Emma's eyes a moment before Ruby's newest ring tone blared. "Hurts so good. Come on, baby, make it hurt so good. Sometimes love don't feel like it should. You make it hurt so good."

"Miss Lucas," Regina snapped, ears burning. When had Henry a chance to change her ring tone last night? "What could you possibly need five minutes after speaking with Emma?" She clipped out, glaring at Felicia who laid her head on her arms and shook with laughter.

"Nothing," Ruby chirped on the other end. "Emma said to call in five minutes because she wanted your new ring tone to play while Felicia was there. Love you!"

The line went dead, and Regina pulled the phone back and stared at it. Felicia and Emma both giggled, clearly amused at the prank. Regina grunted throatily with cold eyes, but her lips quirked in spite of her fake anger. Emma levered herself onto the counter and leaned against the cabinets when Regina returned to the stove. She sipped her coffee and studied Felicia for a moment. The redhead squirmed under the scrutiny.

"So. Dinners?" She directed towards Felicia and sipped her coffee. The redhead cleared her throat and nodded, reinserting herself into the discussion now that Emma had been properly soothed and assured and her partner thoroughly embarrassed in retaliation for her failure to inform her that they had company after jumping her this morning, literally.

"We'd be happy to have him, and if you'd care for a free night or two, he is more than welcome to sleep over," she offered brightly but evenly, not wanting to suggest that Emma lacked parenting skills because she certainly never fell short in that department.

"You could call Jane or your college friends and have that beer you were talking about yesterday," Regina offered, transferred her breakfast to a plate, and turned off the burner. Once she'd gotten Emma to try it, she was pleased that her lover actually enjoyed healthy omelets for breakfast.

Emma tore into her food the second her hand grasped the plate. She always woke up starving after they made love… or it was morning, either way.

"You don't have to do that. I mean, there's the whole no sleepovers on school nights thing, right?" She tossed out between bites and studied the two more experienced parents, trusting their insight on the subject.

"I spoke with Danny earlier, and we don't mind bending that rule if you want a night off. I remember how disorienting everything is the first week after the semester ends. It's up to you, of course, but I thought I'd offer. We love having Henry over," Felicia admitted with a grin. He and Nathan were thick as thieves, and Henry was so polite and respectful, unlike most of the other more spoiled and ill-mannered children on their street.

"Alright," she said with a shrug and shoved the rest of her omelet into her mouth. "I'll text Jane and see what days she has free and get back to you. If she's working on an open case, she may not even have any. Thirteen should be free most nights, so we can talk details later if that's okay with you. If the kid is cool with it, I wouldn't mind catching up with some of the guys at the precinct," she elaborated as she slid off the counter, rinsed her plate and put it in the dishwasher.

"Thanks," she said shyly, not quite meeting Felicia's eyes. The redhead nodded and gathered her bearings. Emma's speech was the most she'd ever heard the former sheriff say in one breath.

"Of course. Any night is fine, so just have Regina send me a text," Felicia said kindly. She truly wanted to know Emma Swan better, but the woman was so difficult to read. She hadn't quite coaxed her into opening up, but with a little more time, she thought Emma might have let her in a little.

"I'm going to go pack for this weekend," Emma directed towards Regina, excusing herself from the uncomfortable conversation. She refilled her coffee and glanced at her partner as she added more sugar and cream.

"Do you want me to pack for you?" She asked when Regina said nothing. The older woman pursed her lips when Emma snatched four chocolate chip cookies out of the cookie jar but still said nothing. Emma grinned.

"I'll take that as a hell no and be on my way," she laughed, her soul feeling lighter at Regina's reaction to her sweet tooth. "Thanks again, Felicia," she said, kissed Regina's cheek, and disappeared with her cookies and coffee.

"I swear those cookies should be protected under lock and key. I haven't a clue why I continue to make them," Regina laughed and refilled their coffees.

"I don't think her appearance suffers from the consumption," Felicia muttered and hid behind her coffee cup with raised eyebrows. Regina raised one of her own at the offhanded comment and smirked. There was a freak hiding somewhere beneath Felicia's suburban housewife, and she looked forward to uncovering it.

They made love again before picking Henry up from school for his therapy session, ate turkey sandwiches and cookies that Regina had packed and spent the rest of the evening singing to whatever song played. Before their third trip back to Storybrooke, Emma bought a collection of Disney Cds as a joke. When she played the first one, however, they all found a sense of relief and amusement to their situation. It eased the stress of returning to the place that held so many horrible memories and feelings for them. Regina especially enjoyed the dwarves' working song.

Emma stopped a few feet from the town line as she always did, and Regina stepped into the cool damp night. Emma drove over the line and moved the shifter to park. She glanced in the back, making sure Henry slept peacefully, not wanting him to wake up and find both of his mothers gone and the motor running. Emma stood at the faded orange line. The small jolt to her system indicated that her tiny amount of magic returned, and it itched and burned. She only imagined what Regina felt each time.

She reached over the line and took Regina's hands. They trembled, her mind knowing exactly what was about to happen. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and stepped into Emma. The blonde's strong hands held her back and hips, and her arms wrapped around Emma's solid shoulders as she practically fell into her partner. Emma buried her face in Regina's hair and held her upright as the witch's body convulsed, tensed, trembled and then fell limp in her arms.

"I'm here, Baby. I got you," she whispered when hot liquid soaked into her shirt at her shoulder. She swallowed her own tears burning her throat and waited. She hated the fact that Regina was in pain and she was absolutely powerless to help her. So she held her tight until the worst of it passed.

"I'm going to be sick," Regina said as she pulled away from Emma and doubled over, supporting her upper body with hands on her knees. Emma grabbed her shoulder length hair from her face and closed her eyes against the retching. This usually happened when they left Storybrooke, not when they entered.

Regina spat and straightened, indicating that she'd finished heaving. Emma pulled her against her side with a supportive hand on her waist and walked her to the car. She opened the door and lowered Regina into the seat before returning to the driver's side and handing Regina a bottle of water. Emma rubbed her lover's back as she rinsed and spat several times. After several long minutes, Regina pulled her feet inside the car and closed the door.

"You good?" Emma asked and tucked a shock of dark hair behind Regina's ear.

"Drive," Regina ordered with a raspy voice and brushed her hand away gently. She propped her elbow on the window and chewed her thumb nail.

Emma took the rejection in stride, knowing that Regina needed a moment to recover. She kept their speed slower than normal, giving her lover a few extra minutes before being bombarded with a bouncing wolf and flouncing librarian. They'd nearly reached the town proper when Regina snagged her right hand from the steering wheel and gripped it tightly. She still gazed out the window and chewed the side of her thumb nail, but she'd reached out, which meant their combined magic wasn't hurting her anymore.

Emma never noticed it, but Regina's body had been trained to seek out and connect with other magical beings. So, every touch was torture if she wasn't fully acclimated and in control of the magic that abruptly filled her the second she crossed the line. Emma forgot that sometimes.

"Do I need to drive around the block a couple times?" Emma asked when she turned onto Mifflin Street. Regina squeezed her hand painfully.

"I want to see Ruby," she said, not answering her question outright, which meant the extra time would have benefited her control but her desire to see her best friend overruled her need for control.

The door flew open when Emma pulled up to the curb in front of the walk. Ruby sprinted towards the car while Belle followed at a more reserved pace but sported the same bright smile. Regina pushed aside her discomfort and stepped onto the cement with barely enough time to find her footing before Ruby slammed into her. Emma watched the two melt into each other for a moment, lips climbing in a smile, and then grabbed Henry's knee and shook him awake.

"Hey, Bud, we're here," she whispered and smiled when his eyes lit up like a shooting star.

He scrambled from the car and tripped into Belle's waiting arms. Emma stepped onto the wet pavement, shoved her hands into her back pockets, and waited. Belle and Henry already meandered towards the house, arms locked around each other. Regina and Ruby held each other, swaying gently under the heavy emotion of being physically together once more.

Emma and Belle still struggled to understand their lovers' connection but had accepted that the darkened souls perhaps had enough love for two soul mates. One that completely understood the darkness and one that encouraged the light. It was a theory that they'd developed over the last eight months during the late nights when Ruby completely lost her shit. The night Belle hesitantly expressed her theory, Emma dismissed it immediately, the twinge of grief that she wasn't enough for Regina too much to bear.

As time passed, however, Emma slowly realized that Belle was right. Both Regina and Ruby held more than enough love and room in their hearts for more than one true love. Just because it was a strictly platonic relationship and a different type of love than they shared with their physical lovers hadn't made it any less pure and honest and true. Emma and Belle eventually counseled each other through the mind boggling theory and made peace with it together.

"Thank you, Emma," Ruby said over Regina's shoulder just like she always had and begrudgingly held out a hand to the former sheriff.

"Always," Emma promised and squeezed Ruby's hand. They nodded at each other, and then Emma grabbed their bags from the trunk and followed Belle and Henry to the house. It could have been a minute or an hour before the other two woman finally parted and came inside.

"It's there, Ruby," Regina whispered, and Emma stopped on porch and glanced over her shoulder. Regina's hand was buried inside Ruby's chest. Her forehead rested on the wolf's shoulder, and Ruby's forehead fell against the crown of Regina's head.

"Just a little longer, Regina," Ruby pleaded, and Regina nodded awkwardly without raising her head.

"As long as you need," the sorceress vowed and left her hand inside her friend.

That's what always took them so long to come inside, Emma realized. It had only taken her eight months, but she'd figured it out. Regina spent her first few minutes in Storybrooke cradling her friend's heart in her protective and loving hand, sometimes as long as an hour or two. She sniffed and swallowed her tears as she turned from the two tortured women. As long as Ruby suffered from what happened last year, Regina refused to move on. The anguish lessened in Boston, but it never went away, and it never would as long as Ruby fought the battle that constantly plagued her mind.

Emma closed the door behind her just in case Henry or Belle wandered by and intruded upon the intimate moment taking place just outside. It was intrusion enough that she had seen and heard what she had. This moment was for Ruby and Regina, a testament and affirmation of their survival and unconditional dedication to one another. It wasn't for them, no matter how much they may have wanted to share it. Emma sighed and leaned against the door as an uncomfortable ache settled into her heart, just like always.

Welcome back to Storybrooke.


	4. 28 Years of Prime

Dear Guest, I'm going to refrain from answering your question, mostly because I won't have the answer until I finish detailing my chapter outlines, and the irony of it being asked right before this chapter is amusing to me. If it's straight up smut you're looking for, you won't find it in this story because all of my sex scenes have a purpose and advance either plot or character development.

That said, apologies for the delayed update. I'm not as familiar with S3 as the other two, so I'm finding myself actually having to go back and rewatch all of the episodes instead of skimming ep guides for details because I've only seen them once. I have a general plan laid out, but I need to fill in the details, so this will be a little more stop-start than I like. Bear with me!

Songs: Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows, Let's Go (Geronimo)by Audiogroove

* * *

Rain pelted the windows gently, coaxing Emma from her restless sleep. She groaned and stretched her tired muscles before she ever opened her eyes. She hadn't needed to see her surroundings to know that they'd spent the night in Storybrooke. She always felt like crap the next morning, and she almost always woke up alone. This morning was no exception. Regina and Ruby slept on the sofas in the living room as per usual. She groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"This shit is getting old," she grumbled and sat up, fumbling for her glasses. The clock on the nightstand told her that it was just after seven. Why the hell was she awake? Oh right, Storybrooke, shitty sleep, achy muscles.

She slid from the bed, rummaged in her bag for Regina's ring and shoved it into the large pockets of her shorts. She feared leaving it unattended for even a few minutes because Regina found everything. She nearly tripped down the stairs a moment later, equilibrium evading her in the early morning haze. She peeked into the living room, smiling despite her irritation. Regina was curled into a ball, head on Ruby's chest. The wolf sat upright in the corner of the sofa with her hands clasped around Regina's ribs. At least they slept better when they returned to Storybrooke.

Emma turned from the scene, the seductive scent of coffee and bacon beckoning her towards the kitchen. If she was a cartoon character, she'd have floated across the foyer, toes dragging as her nose lifted her from the floor to follow the hazy aroma of deliciousness. She smiled again when she stumbled into the kitchen.

Belle and Henry stood at the stove, both covered in flour. She watched over him anxiously as he flipped the frying bacon, twisting her hands in the apron protecting her yellow sun dress. Leave it to Belle to dress in the most inappropriate clothing possible for a rainy day, not that it would have dampened her spirits any.

"Oh Emma! Good morning," Belle chirped, and Emma literally recoiled from the loud and way too happy tone.

"Coffee, Belle. We've had this discussion," Emma closed her eyes and tried not to be annoyed by the naturally bubbly librarian.

"Oh right, sorry," she whispered and poured Emma a mug of steaming bliss.

"Don't mind her, Aunt Belle. She's always grumpy before coffee. Emma, we're making breakfast," he informed her needlessly, and she bit down on the sarcastic comment about obvious statements. This was her son, and her son was granted a stay of sarcasm no matter how irritatingly chipper he behaved in the morning.

"I see, Bud. It smells good," she humored the boy and fixed her coffee.

"Are they still asleep?" Belle asked casually, but there was an edge in her voice that Emma felt certain reflected her own. She hummed and nodded.

"Ruby needs to get up. I haven't the heart to wake her, but Granny's called twice already." Belle pleaded with her to intervene. She confided months ago that Ruby only really slept peacefully when she and Regina returned to Storybrooke, and Emma wished more than anything that they knew how to break the barrier. Ruby needed to leave Storybrooke as much as she and Regina had.

"Hey Kid, go wake your mom and Aunt Ruby. Gently, please," she added for good measure, not wanting him to be hit when he scared the two jumpy women out of their slumber.

"M'kay. Hey can I go to the diner with Ruby and help Granny in the kitchen?" He vibrated with the thought, and Emma's brows crinkled as she studied her son. He was such an odd child. Who found enjoyment helping a cranky lady make diner food?

"Sure, Kid. Go get your work clothes on and wake your mom on your way back through," Emma consented, and he took off like a shot.

"Thanks Emma!" His words followed him through the foyer, and she shook her head slowly, eyes closing in amusement. God, he was weird.

"He seems happier every time you come back," Belle commented quietly, taking up Henry's station at the frying pan. "Whatever you're doing in Boston is working." She smiled over her shoulder, and Emma returned it. Yes, it was working.

"How are you, Belle? I haven't spoken to you since our last visit." Emma tossed the words out casually, but the simple question always seemed to make the librarian's face light up.

"Thank you," Belle answered pointedly and turned from the bacon. "And I am, well… I'm happily miserable." She smiled weakly, but it never reached her eyes.

"What are you thanking me for?" Emma raise and eyebrow and studied the younger woman's tired face. She knew the feeling. She was tired of this situation, too, but Belle was in the thick of it.

"For asking about me. Not many do anymore. It's either a question about us as a unit or some nosy imbecile trying to pry loose information on Ruby's mental wellbeing. You always treat me like I am my own individual person, and I appreciate it. That's all." She returned her attention to the crispy bacon and turned off the burner carefully. She'd been paranoid ever since she turned it the wrong way and left it on all day about a month after they left for Boston. It had taken Ruby an hour to calm her hysteria, even though the house was far from burning down.

"Belle, since we're on the subject, we need to talk about the Ruby situation. It's getting way out of control," Emma jumped in with both feet and gulped her coffee, needing the boost to get through this. Belle threw up her hands and sighed.

"Thank you!" She slammed bacon onto a plate and tossed it in front of Emma who jerked back at the ire in the normally docile woman's behavior.

"Do you know she has an alarm set so she doesn't forget to call at seven every evening? We have been in the middle of making love several times, and she just gets up and leaves. I'm now quite adept at finishing the job myself. It's not healthy. I understand that they went through something together, but I don't know how long I can keep doing this, Emma. I'm losing my mind." She tossed the skillet into the sink and leaned her hands against the counter, head bowed as she struggled to control her emotions.

"She makes me so happy when she's actually here, with me. Mentally and emotionally, I mean, but sometimes I feel like she'd rather be in Boston with Regina. I can't sleep sometimes because I'm terrified that she's going to cross the line just to forget all of this. I just lay there and watch her sleep and pray that she comes back to me one day." Belle's voice cracked with tears and she hung her head between her shoulders, knuckles whitening with the pressure of her grip.

Emma was on her feet in a second. Belle resisted only a moment before allowing Emma to envelop her in strong, supportive arms. She had known it was bad, but she hadn't known it was this bad. Hot tears soaked onto Emma's chest, and she fought her own. Regina may have spent hours at a time on the phone with Ruby, but when they were together, she had never felt that Regina checked out, emotionally or physically. Whether they made love or shopped for groceries, Regina was always there with her. What Belle was going through was torture of a whole different kind.

"I haven't had sex in three months, Emma. It's driving me crazy. I touch her everyday, but it's like she's not even here anymore. I can't do it. I thought I was her true love, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's all one-sided. True love is a thing of fiction, isn't it? I'm giving her everything I have, and it's just not enough. I'm not enough. Sometimes I wish I'd never gotten my memories back," she confessed, devoid of emotion now that she'd cried herself out, and Emma squeezed her tighter.

"I'm glad we got you back," Emma told her and kissed the side of her head. Belle teared up again and hid her face in yellow hair.

"Aunt Belle, what's wrong?" Henry's voice called from the door.

"Babe?" Ruby's followed immediately. Emma glared at the waitress when she reached for her lover, and she dropped her hands.

"Henry, I need you to take Belle up to your room and read to her. Can you do that for me?" Emma said, not bothering to look at her son. He didn't answer verbally but wrapped his arms around the librarian and smiled up at her.

"Whatever it is. It'll get better, Aunt Belle. I brought the book Nathan got me for my birthday. Want me to read that to you?" He babbled and led her from the room. He was clearly concerned, but she had given him a mission. He always completed his missions, like the good little budding hero he was.

The three other women watched them go, two in confusion and one with a burning rage. Ruby and Regina turned their gaze to Emma when the boy and librarian were no longer in sight. Regina stepped forward first, and Emma held up a hand, not wanting to be touched for fear she'd lash out physically.

"If you need coffee, get it. If not, sit. Now." Emma ordered, voice calm and controlled despite her anger. They glanced at each other and then sat, wide awake after witnessing what they had.

"Emma, what the hell is wrong with my girlfriend?" Ruby demanded, and Emma bristled.

"She's not your girlfriend. She's your punching bag." Emma accused, and Ruby shot to her feet.

"Excuse me?" The words were dark and threatening, and Emma sneered.

"Sit. Down. Now. I'm speaking." She ordered, and Ruby obeyed when Regina tugged on her arm.

"Really? Leaving in the middle of sex to call Regina at seven on the dot? Do you not think that's fucking with her head? You have what most people only get to dream about, you fucking idiot, and you're destroying it when you should be fighting like hell to keep it." Emma blew off steam, pacing and waving frantically. Her rage deflated as she told off the wolf. But she was only warming up.

"Is that true, Ruby?" Regina stepped in before Emma's tirade continued. Ruby nodded, head hung. Regina's eyes flared violet, a testament to her own anger and lack of magical control. She met Emma's and the glow faded. Now she understood Emma's rage.

"Ruby, Sweetheart, I love you, but I cannot condone that behavior. Emma's right. You're going to lose her behaving that way." Regina chided, much more gently than Emma.

"She may have already lost her," Emma said coldly.

She cared about Belle. Not only was she fantastic with Henry, but she was loyal and honest and funny and endearingly ignorant of this world. She still called the toaster a "bread crisper," and it made Emma smile every time. She was damn near perfect, and she loved Ruby more than anything. Stupid wolf.

"We all know you got problems, Rubes. We get it. You went through some shit. You have nightmares and flashbacks and PTSD episodes. Trust me, you are in good fucking company. You got the shit end of the stick in the whole Cora situation, and you were willing to give up everything to save us. We love the hell out of you. And with that in mind, I need to tell you to get the hell over yourself.

"We know you're trying, and we know that you are only going to heal when your mind is ready to heal. You can't control that, but you can control your actions when you aren't having a nightmare or a flashback. So, here's what's going to happen."

Emma set her hands on her hips and glared at Ruby, making sure she listened carefully. She did. If her big wounded eyes were any indication, Ruby hadn't realized how her behavior effected Belle, which made it worst because she hadn't cared.

"Henry, Regina and I are going for a walk in the park at five. We are going to go to my parents' place for dinner tonight at six. I estimate dinner to take about two hours, depending on how many things Regina insists on fixing because Mary Margaret screwed it up. We will then go to Granny's around 8:15 and eat a slice of pie and drink some damn hot chocolate. We will return here at nine.

"During those four hours, you will not text or call either of us unless it is an emergency, and by emergency, I mean if someone is in the hospital. If by the end of those four hours, you haven't talked until you lost your voices or fucked until your brains explode, I'll help her pack and move back to the library tonight. Are we clear?"

Emma's chest heaved as she fell silent. Regina and Ruby simply stared. Emma crossed her arms when no reply came from Ruby and tapped her foot.

"Clear," she mumbled, thoroughly and appropriately shamed. She'd never seen Emma so mad, but that hadn't meant that every word she spoke was true. She'd fucked up, and now she had to make it up to Belle before she lost the best thing that had ever happened to her.

"Good, now get your sorry ass upstairs and get dressed. You're late for work." She flung the command with a wave of her hand and then began cleaning the breakfast mess that the inexperienced cook and her son had made.

Ruby moped towards the foyer, and Regina stared at her lover. She crossed her legs, still in skirt and blue silk shirt she'd worn here last night. They were wrinkled, hair tussled from sleep and face a natural slightly tan hue and nearly free of makeup. Emma glanced up at the motion and gritted her teeth against Regina's seductive smirk. God, she loved tussled Regina. This wasn't there house anymore, she reminded herself as she scrubbed bacon greased from the skillet.

When she glanced over her shoulder again, Regina leaned her back against the island and spread her arms over the marble counter. Emma sighed and allowed herself a moment to stare at the bundle of sexual energy that was her very attractive partner. Regina was always ready to go it seemed. Emma jerked and averted her eyes when she realized Regina had spent 28 years living in her sexual prime. Holy shit, no wonder she was primed and ready to go at the drop of a hat, and found turn-ons bizarre things, like watching her brush her hair or when she returned from a jog sweaty and smelly. Best shower sex ever. She even found her nerd glasses sexy and requested that she keep them on and nothing else at times.

This morning, however, she refused to give into Regina's prowess. She wiped down the stove with purpose while Regina stared over her shoulder. Emma grumbled under her breath and moved back to the sink to rinse the rag. Regina Mills had no power over her, not today. She was way too pissed off about Belle's turmoil.

"Emma." Regina paralyzed her intentions with her deep silky timbre. "Come here," she commanded. The rag hit the floor with a _slop-smack_ a moment before Emma pried Regina's knees apart and inserted herself in between. Their hips pressed together deliciously, the stool offering a damn good angle. Emma smirked down at her lover, gripped both sides of her shirt and jerked it apart. The buttons flew as Regina's eyebrows shot skywards. Emma had never destroyed her clothing before.

Hot lips were on her chest before she recovered, and Regina spared a moment to wonder if she had Emma so worked up or if the thought that perhaps she wasn't appreciated worried her still angry lover. If it were the second, Emma needn't have worried at all. Regina knew how much Emma loved her, how much she went out of her way to do little things that made her feel special and sexy and beautiful. Emma was the perfect partner. It was Regina who should have been concerned that she'd made Emma feel similarly to Belle.

Her thoughts left her when teeth sank into her breast. Hips bucked upward and suddenly lifted from the stool. The upward motion gave Emma an opening to slide her hands beneath Regina's thighs and lift her. Regina gasped and crossed her ankles around Emma's thin but muscular hips. She used her spatial memory of the house and guided them blindly to Regina's old study, what now served as Belle's personal library.

Regina's back hit the door frame painfully, and she sighed into the delicious tendrils of arousal flowing towards her belly. Emma grinned and kicked the door shut. Her back smacked the wood again, intentionally this time, and then her feet were on the floor. If Emma had strained under her weight, it hadn't shown. Emma jerked her shirt from her shoulders, holding it at her elbows and effectively trapping her arms at her side. A moment of panic swelled in Regina's chest and then turned into pure adrenaline and arousal when Emma forcefully took control of her lips.

A sharp tug on the ruined shirt pulled her from the wall. One hand slid to the back of her shirt, pulling her arms painfully, and the other hiked her skirt upwards. Emma's knees hit the floor hard when she pushed on the shirt and Regina fell into one of the soft grey arm chairs in the middle of the floor. The fabric of her underwear scraped her hips and thighs as Emma pulled them from beneath her before situating herself between her thighs. Regina struggled against her bonds, and Emma grinned wickedly. She rarely took Regina in this manner, but they both secretly loved it.

She lowered her mouth to Regina's lower lips, sliding it through the slick folds. Regina was so wet, so ready. Emma twisted her fist in the shirt and pulled Regina towards her, rising to her full height on her knees to capture her lips. Regina moaned at the salty taste of herself on Emma's lips. Gods, she loved pissed off Emma Swan.

Her eyes widened when firm fingers wrapped around her throat and Emma leaned past her to whisper into her ear.

"I'm going to make you scream my name," Emma whispered, promised, threatened. Slim fingers tightened with each word, and Regina's mouth fell open, sucking in more oxygen as Emma hindered it slightly.

Both hands remained where they were as Emma slammed her into the chair again, dropping her head between her thighs. Regina gasped and rolled her hips when teeth scraped the sensitive bundle of nerves above her slit. She soothed it with a heavy tongue before clamping teeth around it and pulling back. The pressure of her pearly whites and the scraping motion as she slowly released the skin pulled a hollow moan that nearly sounded like a growl from the woman under her control. It spurred her forward.

She released the shirt as she soothed her lover once more and scraped red marks between Regina's breasts, down her stomach. Regina squirmed and panted. Emma toyed with her, and her frustration grew.

"Emma," she demanded only to have her air cut off with the slightest of pressure added to her already half closed throat. Panic and adrenaline tore through her veins, and she sighed into the pleasure.

Emma lapped at her hole once she settled and closed her mouth. Emma hadn't wanted her to beg; she wanted her to scream. Her tongue returned to the engorged nub a moment before two fingers slid between her gushing lips. She stroked her twice and then added a third. Regina moaned, frustrated at Emma's ridiculously slow pace. She nearly sniped at her teasing lover but froze, wide eyed when Emma's pinky joined the other three inside of her without ever stopping that insanely slow pace.

A small orgasm rocked her body, and Emma stilled her tongue. She studied the resistance meeting her fingers buried within Regina's velvet walls, a grin spreading slowly. She could do this. Her tongue resumed it's gentle stimulation as her hand moved again. A torrent of liquid spilled when she pulled her fingers out. She grinned up at Regina.

"Now scream," she ordered, tucked her thumb tightly against the palm of her hand and slowly slid inside of her gasping lover.

Her hand loosened its hold around her neck instinctively when Regina's breathing became shallow as she stretched her open. Regina cried out and clutched at her shoulders when Emma reached the bottom knuckle of her thumb and the widest part of her hand. She froze, but Regina nodded fervently.

"Yes, please please, Emma. Keep going. Ah!" Regina cried out and pulled forward bodily when Emma quickly finished inserting her hand with a quick jerk.

She waited as Regina adjusted to the new sensations inside of her. It hurt like a bitch, and Regina smiled into it. Emma's mouth dropped open when Regina flung herself into the chair and rocked her hips against her hand. Her arms gripped the top of the chair, head thrashing side to side as she impaled herself on Emma's entire hand. She snapped out of her shock and met her thrusts.

"Emma," Regina breathed, eyes flying open and locking with hers.

Emma moved her hand again, pulling out as far as the bottom knuckled of her hand and back in. Her heart pounded with the fear of hurting her lover. She'd believed this a good idea until she'd done it. Regina rocked against her, sensing her fear. She barely touched her face with her fingertips.

"I'm okay," she gasped and rocked her hips again. It was all the confirmation Emma needed. Regina was with her and would pull her back if she went too far. Trust your partner, she repeated in her head.

Regina grunted when she began a steady rhythm, moaned loudly and continuously when she increased the speed. Emma stood and leaned over her, hand never faltering once inside of her. She slipped the other into Regina's hair and jerked her head back, forcing brown eyes to meet hers. She wanted to watch this one for sure. Regina held her eyes open as best she could.

Emma slammed into her almost violently, and Regina grabbed the hair at her temples with both hands. Emma gritted her teeth at the sharp pain and repeated the painful motion, faltering when Regina winced, repeated it again when the wince turned into a moan.

"I'm okay, Emma," Regina said again.

Emma punched into her hard, in and out, in and out. Her walls slurped around her wrist each time. She was close. Brown eyes slid shut as Emma's name fell from her lips repeatedly in a reverent whisper. She'd officially sent Regina out of her mind. The name grew in strength each time.

"EM…" She muffled the rest of her name with her lips, catching Regina's moans and breaths as she came undone. She jerked at Emma's hair, her shirt, shoulder, neck. Anything within her grasp, and Emma knew for certain that she had no clue what her hands were doing. Her head jerked back and forth. Slick walls clenched and released Emma's wrist painfully.

Regina stilled, and Emma eased her hand out of her. Regina cried into her mouth again as her body shuddered with another orgasm. Regina's head fell to the side, and an arm fell over her face. She bit her lip when Emma moved again, whimpering as the next wave crashed into her. It was almost like torture. Finally, she pulled free, and Regina shuddered again.

Emma's mouth dropped open when her other hand grabbed her own breast and squeezed. She seriously needed more stimulation right now? Emma cupped her other breast and squeezed gently as the thumb of her other hand slid over her clit. It took only a few swipes before Regina stilled, mouth open in a silent scream, and then slumped into the chair. Emma moved her thumb again, and Regina slapped numbly at her hand.

"Can't," she whispered as her chin quivered, belying the tears she tried to hide with her arm.

"Shit. Baby, did I hurt you?" No response. "Regina, I'm freaking out," Emma confessed with no response. "Baby, please say someth…"

Regina slapped her fingers over Emma's mouth, thwarting a full out panic attack. She hooked a finger around Emma's lower teeth and pulled her forward. Emma chuckled. If Regina acted silly, she was fine. Emma puffed a gust of air against her chest in relief and then pressed a kiss to the bruise forming on the breast she'd bitten earlier. And then the skin in between.

"I've made you cry because of sex twice in as many days. Are you okay?" Emma rested her lips on the damp skin between Regina's breasts and studied the bit of her face that wasn't beneath her arm.

"I want another child," Regina confessed breathily. Her arm fell from her eyes a moment later to find wide, comically terrified green eyes staring at her. "And you don't." She moved to throw her arm over her face again, but Emma stopped it with gentle fingers around her wrist.

"Don't jump to conclusion, Sassy Pants. You just caught me off guard. That's all. Another kid. Uhh, wow. Maybe I won't screw it up this time," she babbled honestly, and Regina wished that she felt her limbs. They still felt like jelly - numb, thick jelly.

"Emma, you didn't screw it up this time. Henry knows that you love him, and that is by far the most important thing. He's angry, but he's working through it. He'll be just fine," Regina soothed, managing to brush one finger over her arm. She watched the different emotions dance thru Emma's eyes.

"I guess I'll be carrying kid number two as well?" Her forehead scrunched, knowing that Regina's infertility was something her lover hadn't yet to come to terms with.

"Either that or adoption," Regina offered, not wanting to put the responsibility solely on Emma. The blonde shook her head, curls bouncing into her face.

"I want to carry your egg. You can't, but I can. Then it will truly be ours, you know. You'll get your bio baby," Emma smiled, tears swelling in her eyes when Regina's lit up.

"You'd do that for me?" She asked, unbelieving, and Emma rolled her eyes, causing her tears to spill onto her cheeks.

"I'd do anything for you," she promised. She tangled her fingers in sweaty black hair, thumb tracing the hair line at her temple.

"Marry me, Regina." Her voice was soft, barely there, but the sharp breath told Emma that Regina heard her.

"What?" She managed, her brain swirling out of control. Emma's grin spread.

"Marry me," she repeated, eyes flitting back and forth as she searched the darker ones above her. Regina gritted her teeth.

"Emma Swan, I will not accept a proposal of marriage while in the throes of passion," Regina sniped, and Emma smiled wider. She had Regina on the run, and now she had to chase her down again.

"It's not. I mean, yes, it is, but it's not," Emma babbled as she pulled the ring from the pocket her shorts. She grabbed Regina's shoulders and pulled her into a sitting position and planted one foot firmly on the floor. It wasn't the grand romantic gesture that she'd been trying to plan, but it was so totally fitting for them.

She opened the box and held it in front of her. "Regina Mills, I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?" She asked confidently, no doubts in her voice or eyes. Regina gasped and touched the ring with one finger.

"Emma, this is beautiful. Yes." She looked up from the ring and met Emma's gaze. "Yes, I will be your wife, Emma Swan." The vein in her forehead throbbed, belying the excitement beneath her shy smile.

Emma squealed and flung herself into Regina's arms, wiggling until the sat shoulder to shoulder on the oversized chair. Emma's legs hung over hers. She pulled the ring from the box and hesitated. Crap.

"Regina?" They turned their heads in unison, one in confusion and one in embarrassment. "Which hand does it go on?" Emma whispered, and Regina laughed, deep and throaty and rumbling in all the right ways. Emma had only heard it a handful of times, but when she did, she savored the moment.

"This one," Regina held up her left hand and even lowered all of her fingers except the ring finger.

Emma's hand shook as she lowered it into place. It fit perfectly as it should because it had taken her three weeks to snag one of Regina's other rings for the jeweler to measure. Regina wiggled her fingers, adjusting to the new piece of jewelry she intended never to take off, and then held it up for inspection of how it looked on her hand.

"I love it," she smiled and then pressed it to Emma's cheek as she pulled her in for a kiss. "I bet Snow will, too." Regina whispered and pressed her forehead into Emma's, smiling at the responding groan.

"Please, Babe. Just a little longer before the 'I'm my own grandma' jokes start." Emma face palmed herself, pulling her hand to her mouth to meet Regina's suddenly wide eyes.

"Oh dear god, you will be, won't you?" Emma nodded, and Regina laughed again. The giggles petered out, and Emma slid her fingers into Regina's, loving the feel of the ring she'd designed pressing against her. This was real and happening.

"Annabel," Emma said suddenly, calmer but still with a smile.

"Annabel?" Regina's forehead bunched in confusion, desperately trying to follow her lover's thoughts.

"Annabel. For a girl, I like the name Annabel," she clarified. Regina's face softened.

"Annabel Ruby Swan," Regina finished. Emma considered it and looked up with insecure eyes.

"You want my last name?" Regina settled her head against Emma's shoulder and traced nonsensical patterns into her white tank top.

"If that's what you want, then yes, absolutely. Queen Regina Mills has been dead a long time. I'd like my name to reflect the person I've become." Regina's voice was quiet, like she feared Emma's rejection even after everything they'd gone through together.

"Then we shall be the Swans, as beautiful and temperamental as our namesake."


	5. Care to Dance?

Hello Lovelies! My sincerest apologies for the delay in getting this up. I discovered a deep tragedy of my relationship… my partner has never watched Xena. How? How had I not known this? I mean, I guess I just assumed. So, now that she is on her way towards a proper infatuation, I can return to this fandom. Whew! Avoided that catastrophe!

Songs: All of Me by Jasmine Thompson, Let's Go (Geronimo) by Audiogroove

* * *

Everyone reacted predictably to the news of their engagement. They sat Henry down on a bench outside the diner and told him first. He shrugged his shoulders and asked if it changed anything since they already lived together and shared him. They smiled after the boy as he returned to the diner and then leaned into each other, relieved. Luckily, everyone they considered family had convened to have lunch at the diner with Emma and Regina, so once everyone squeezed around the small table in the nook near the front door, they spilled the beans.

David, Snow and Henry sat one side with their backs to the window. Regina, Emma, and Belle sat on the other side while Ruby and Granny hovered at the edge of the table. The engaged couple smiled shyly at each other and clasped hands beneath the table. Regina leaned into Emma slightly, and the blonde tossed an arm around her shoulders, resting it on the back of her chair. She'd ended up in the corner, which felt strange to Emma because she always sat on the edge. It was protector thing.

"So, we got something kind of big to tell you guys," Emma started and then glanced at Regina. Why the hell was she being so shy? She gripped Emma's hand beneath the table and leaned into her harder.

"Yes," Regina started, cleared her throat, glanced at Emma. "We're, uhh," she smiled stupidly and blushed. Emma grappled with the urge to kiss her. What the hell had she done to her Regina?

"We're getting' hitched!" Emma blurted, and Regina rolled her eyes at the choice of words.

Ruby bounced up and down in the middle of the diner, despite the ass chewing Emma had given her earlier that morning, and then flitted off towards the kitchen abruptly. Belle reacted much the same way without the squealing. Granny harrumphed and set her hands on Belle's shoulders, a hint of a grin on her lips. Snow smiled in acceptance and touched Regina's shoulder briefly when she rounded the table and hugged Emma lovingly. David floundered, not disapprovingly but in a way only a father whose had his dreams crushed could. He'd accepted their relationship in order to keep his daughter, but he hadn't actually made peace with it yet. Henry broke the tension when he slid his hot cocoa to his grandfather.

"Gramps, you need this more than I do," he said seriously. Everyone laughed and wiped tears.

"Thanks," David said and downed the chocolate drink in one go, wishing it had alcohol in it. His little girl had promised herself to Regina Mills. How had they gotten to this place?

"So, are you going full blown regal celebration or something small?" Ruby asked and slid a shot and a beer in front of David as she returned to the table. He smiled up at her gratefully.

"The details have not been discussed," Regina answered and pressed even closer to Emma who gave up trying to comfort her discreetly. She turned sideways in the chair and scooted closer, accepting Regina's weight against her chest as soon as her dark-haired lover realized what she intended.

"How does it work?" David asked, still reeling. "I mean, who walks down the aisle?"

"I guess… You know, I have no idea, David. I guess we'll figure it out as we go. I mean, I don't really have a desire to flounce around in a big ass dress," Emma answered honestly, and David's face dropped to his beer.

"Do you want to?" Emma tilted her face towards Regina.

"I… there is no one to escort me," she answered sadly. Her father had been dead by her hand for three decades.

"What about Granny?" Regina's eyes snapped to Belle's as the quiet librarian offered her suggestion. "Or Archie if you prefer a male?"

Regina and Granny locked gazes for a moment. The elder smiled down at the young girl she'd raised for the first ten years of her life, seeing that youthful face instead the middle-aged former Evil Queen. She wanted Regina to choose her, but she'd not sway her one way or the other.

"Granny, I… you'll be escorting Ruby, won't you?" Her dark eyes flicked to Ruby's for any hint of jealousy, finding none.

"What? Fathers get to escort all of their daughters. Why can't I?" Granny huffed. She'd meant the comment defensively, but a chord in Regina snapped tight.

"Daughter," Regina murmured, chin quivering. "Excuse me." She bolted towards the back room, and everyone watched her go. Granny followed.

"Rubes, let her go," Emma ordered when Ruby moved to follow her best friend.

Belle moved to the chair Regina just vacated and pulled her lover down beside her. Belle French was nothing short of miraculous. Even as deeply as Ruby hurt her, she still offered comfort and support to the wolf without hesitation. Emma grinned when Ruby trailed her fingers through Belle's abundance of hair. They'd be okay.

"Mom, David, Henry, like we said, we don't know the details, but you'll all be up there with us. You too, Belle. Ruby, I'd love to lay claim to you as well, but I think you may already be taken," Emma winked. They all knew that she'd reserved her spot as Regina's maid of honor.

"Me?" Belle wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"Well, yeah, if you wouldn't mind. You're family," Emma replied self-consciously, suddenly nervous that the librarian would reject her. Belle's eyes brightened.

"Of course, Emma," she squeaked and flung her arms around the savior's neck. She pulled back a moment later, serious expression on her face. "I get to wear a dress, though, right?"

"Yeah, you can wear a dress," Emma laughed. They all sobered when David's phone rang. He just looked relieved.

"Sheriff," he clipped. "Hey Captain. Yeah. No, I can leave. It's nothing important," he twisted in his chair, but everyone heard him. Emma's face fell, and Belle squeezed her shoulder. The comment hurt everyone at the table, but they all cast sympathetic eyes towards Emma, even Snow.

"I have to go. Mendell and his people are snooping around the old lighthouse," he explained as if they'd only been catching up on old times and not planning his only child's wedding. And then he was gone without further comment.

"I'll talk to him, Emma," Snow promised and squeezed her daughter's hand across the table.

"It's fine," Emma shrugged and stood. "I'm going to go check on Regina." She dismissed herself and disappeared into the back room.

"Your husband's a real dick. You know that?" Ruby sniped at Snow and crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back.

"While I wouldn't have chosen those words, I have to agree," Belle agreed with Ruby's assessment of the situation. Emma smiled at their unwavering support of their relationship but lost the rest of the conversation as she crossed the dining room.

She hadn't expected David to be enthusiastic or even happy about the new development in her relationship, but she thought they'd made enough progress for him to accept it as important. At least he pretended to accept it for her sake, that was something. She was beginning to wonder if his reticence was all tied to who Regina used to be because he hadn't quite acknowledged Belle and Ruby yet either. Was her father homophobic?

She rolled her eyes with the thought. In this world laced with pain and suffering at every turn, it mattered very little with whom a person found happiness. Screw him, Emma thought angrily. Regina and Henry were everything, her reason for breathing, her reason to get up and keep trying and fighting everyday. Everything she did, she did for them, to make them proud to call her lover and mother.

Granny and Regina glanced up from their locked embrace on the sofa when Emma rounded the corner. Granny touched Regina's face lovingly and stood, offering Emma a smile and a wink as she brush passed her. Regina wiped at her face self-consciously as Emma approached.

"I keep doing this," she commented with a raspy voice. Emma threw herself into the couch and spread her arms.

"Doing what, Baby?" Emma asked as Regina melted into her. She pushed her own pain away as Regina slid her hand beneath Emma's t-shirt and stroked the bumpy incision scar above her belly button with her thumb. This made her feel better. Comforting Regina comforted her, made her feel whole and strong again.

"Sobbing like an infantile fool," she berated herself and squeezed her tighter.

"You're not an infantile fool. You're the amazing, incredible, intelligent, beautiful, sexy-as-hell woman I happen to be in love with. You're just changing, that's all," Emma explained matter-of-factly, and Regina pulled back to meet her eyes.

"Changing how?" Regina's voice was deeper than usual, a testament to her valiant battle with her tears.

"Since we've been in Boston. You've been… I don't know, quieter, more emotional, more introverted. It's not a bad thing, just different. You told me once that you were really sensitive and gentle when you were a girl. Maybe you're just getting back in touch with who you really are again," Emma explained her thoughts as best she could and tangled her fingers in Regina's shoulder-length hair.

"I love your hair this length," she commented absently, her soul already lighter from being in Regina's presence. Screw Prince Charming. This was her future. Regina was her future. If he couldn't accept that, he could stay the hell away from her.

"I grew it out for you," Regina admitted shyly and averted her eyes. Emma grinned and brought them back to hers with a hand on her cheek. She suspected Regina stopped getting her normal cut because she'd commented one night after making love how much she'd love to see her with longer hair.

"I'm sorry you have to constantly take care of me, Emma. I feel so much now. I never realized how dead I was inside until we moved to Salem. The Evil Queen wasn't standing over my shoulder anymore. No one looked at me like a villain or at you like the savior. We are just Emma and Regina there, and I think you're right. I was quite emotional as a girl. Heart on my sleeve, as this world calls it. It's rather annoying," Regina huffed.

Emma smiled into her hair, knowing that beneath the tears and gentleness lay dormant a tigress that tore at throats and hearts without a moment's notice. Her Regina may have softened, but she still had claws. Warm fingertips followed the scar that started at the bottom of her ribs and ended at her collarbone. The scar Cora gave her during their final battle, the battle that saved not only Ruby and Regina and Belle but also reunited Snow White and Regina. When Emma faltered, Snow stepped up and shot Ruby without hesitation, willingly taking the responsibility if Ruby died. That night seemed so far away now, a lifetime ago.

"You take care of me, too, Regina. You always know the right thing to say when I'm feeling insecure, and you're always cooking and cleaning and remembering birthday parties and assignment dates. I'm so not single parent material. I love who you are and who you are becoming. That's why I asked you to marry me because I want to change with you the rest of my life." Regina pulled back, eyes wide. She sniffed, swallowed and smiled shyly.

"I must teach you to dance," Regina exclaimed abruptly, and Emma jerked at the sudden noise, renewed excitement of their pending nuptials crackling in the air. She stumbled behind Regina as she pulled her forward.

"Ruby! Music, please. Something waltz-worthy. Henry, pay attention. This is an excellent skill to hone." Regina ordered, and Belle immediately pulled the boy onto the dining room floor near the door.

"I'll teach young Master Mills," she said and curtseyed gracefully. Henry giggled and blushed. They'd be talking to him about girls before long.

"The hand does not go on the hip, Darling. Here." Regina set Emma's hand just above her waist and showed her how to hold her hand properly.

Emma stared at her feet and tried to follow the instructions Regina called gently. She stepped on Regina several times, found her rhythm, lost it when the gentle piano came through the speakers of the diner. She took a deep breath and followed Regina's instruction, successfully starting them again. The other diner patrons paused and watched the dance lesson, never having seen such a soft side to Regina Mills. Snow leaned her head on her hand and observed from the table with a wide grin on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

Ruby also watched for about thirty seconds and then crossed to Belle. "Go ask your grandma to dance, Kiddo," she whispered into Henry's ear.

She bowed to Belle deeply, gracefully, surprising everyone. Ruby knew how to dance? Belle curtseyed after a moment to recover from the shock. Ruby kissed her head and then pulled the shorter woman into a perfect embrace for the dance in question. Belle gasped and stared up into those beautiful brown eyes she loved so much. Ruby moved her confidently, maintaining eye contact with the woman she'd hurt so much.

"I'm sorry that I'm an asshole," she whispered. Belle took a breath to say something, and Ruby shushed her. "I don't want your forgiveness, not yet. Make me earn it," she whispered into her ear and then spun her.

Regina and Emma stopped and watched the hidden talent of the peasant wolf. Where had she learned how to dance with such finesse? Ruby sensed the extra space with her soft focus and whirled Belle with flourish, pouring her soul into the dance and praying it began to make up for her shortcomings. Belle giggled breathlessly and pulled her shoulders back in full princess regalia. If Ruby wanted to go, she planned on giving her a challenge. They pushed and pulled against each other gracefully, each movement flawless.

Belle's face flushed with the effort, and her stomach clenched with the arousal. She had always loved dancing for this exact reaction, but dancing with the love of her life inspired the heat much more quickly than ever before. Ruby inhaled, almost faltering when she caught the familiar scent in the air. Her eyes flashed flickered yellow for a moment, and Belle blushed and giggled again. How had she been so stupid as to ignore this gorgeous creature?

She dipped her as the song ended, carefully holding that ridiculous yellow dress in place. Belle still refused to wear "the infernal underwear." Belle gave up pretense and wrapped her arms around Ruby's neck, pulling their lips together. Ruby wrapped both arms around her waist and stood upright without breaking the kiss. Henry whooped and clapped fervently, and everyone else joined, including Emma and Regina.

"They'll be okay," Emma whispered into Regina's ear as she wrapped her arms around her waist from behind. Regina nodded and covered Emma's arm.

"Thanks to you," Regina said as she leaned her head back on Emma's shoulder and glanced up at her.

Granny watched the heated kiss for a moment, her shoulders sagging in relief. Apparently, she had noticed the tension between her granddaughter and the librarian as well. A faint smile ghosted her lips before she caught it and tightened her shoulders. She snagged a damp towel off counter and snapped it onto Ruby's ass.

"Hey!" Ruby broke the kiss and danced away from the sharp cracks of the towel. "Granny!" Belle covered her mouth, hiding her giggles. Henry and Snow chortled.

"Okay, okay, okay. I know. I got orders up!" Ruby held her hands in front of her, one leg cocked like a flamingo, protecting her crotch. Granny lowered the towel, and Ruby released a shaky breath and leaned into Belle.

"Later. I promise," she whispered and kissed the librarian again. "Ow! Damn it, Granny!" Ruby fumed and received another snap for back sassing her grandmother.

"Okay, I'm moving," Ruby released her lover and ran towards the kitchen and the stinging towel that followed her.

Henry replaced her in Belle's arms, looking up at her with his chin resting just above her breasts. Emma took a deep, steadying breath and prayed he got a growth spurt soon. They wanted him to be a kid again, sure, but he was too old to be shoving his face into women's cleavage. Let it go, Swan, she warned herself.

"Can I go to the library with you?" Belle glanced at Emma and Regina who nodded their consent.

"Of course, my prince," Belle doted, and Henry beamed.

"Alright, Charming Junior. Eat your lunch," Emma intervened, grateful for Ruby's reappearance with their food.

Everyone else in the diner returned to their munching now that the show ended. Regina daintily cut into her salad while Emma chomped into a burger. Regina eyed the beef sandwich and took it from Emma's hands. Emma squawked around the gigantic mouthful and glared at her fiancée. Henry, Snow and Belle also watched the former queen with heightened interest. She glanced around the table, took a deep breath and bit into the greasy, cheesy mess that she constantly berated Emma for ordering.

Emma stopped mid-chew when Regina moaned, shoulders falling in pleasure. She swallowed the small bite and turned excitedly to Emma.

"Why have you never forced me to eat this?" She sat the burger back onto Emma's plate, and Emma shrugged.

"As if I could force you to do anything," Emma muttered. "Hey!" She held her hands out when Regina swapped their plates, clearly not eating her salad anymore.

"Really?" Emma grumbled and narrowed her eyes at her lover.

"Yes, Darling. I'm eating your concoction. I think it only fair that you try mine. If you don't like it, you may order another burger," Regina smiled prettily and bit a tiny piece of fry from her fork. Emma almost laughed at the daintiness of the action.

"Only if you promise to eat with your hands," Emma laughed and stole Regina's fork.

Lunch ended on a high note, and the group split. Belle and Henry crossed the street to the library. Ruby chased Belle down in the middle of the street. Belle had clearly become accustomed to not saying goodbye to her partner after having lunch at Granny's, something they'd all missed before today. The wolf flipped off a honking car as she cupped Belle's neck and pulled her into a tender kiss. The librarian smiled shyly as she stepped out from in front of the car and watched Ruby bolt back towards the diner. Her face softened when she caught Emma's gaze. Emma saluted with two fingers and pulled Regina down the sidewalk.

They ambled through the streets hand in hand, stopping to buy two bunches of flowers. They always visited Regina's parents when they returned, usually after lunch on Saturday afternoon unless Ruby showed signs of some sort of meltdown. Obviously, the wolf was completely fine today after her impromptu dance and public make-out session with Belle.

Emma handed the flowers to Regina when they reached the Mills Mausoleum and hung back. Regina never insisted that she go alone, but Emma always gave her the option of asking instead of assuming she wanted her company. She sat on the damp ground and then laid back, her jeans and blue leather jacket protecting her from the dirt and moisture. She preferred her red jacket, but it was destroyed when she was shot. Oh well, Regina never liked it much anyway. She tucked her arms behind her head and studied the clouds.

A few minutes later Regina emerged from the crypt and sat beside her fiancée on the ground. Emma's head lulled in her direction as she squinted up at her partner. Regina smiled down at her and brushed fingers through her blonde mane.

"That was faster than usual," Emma commented and closed her eyes. "You're skirt is going to get dirty and wet." She closed her eyes and readjusted her head. The dark grey skirt will have to be dry cleaned anyway from the small time on the ground, so Regina shrugged.

"I missed you," she confessed as if it was the most natural explanation in the world. Emma cracked her eyes again when Regina unzipped her coat. They opened wide when Regina hike her skirt up and settled her bare knees on top of the coat on either side of her waist.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Emma asked, hands sliding up Regina's thighs despite the very public location. The woman's damn skin was magnetic, she was sure of it.

"Straddling you," Regina answered sarcastically and leaned down for a kissed. Lips moved lazily against each other, and Emma found herself relieved that Regina intended only to be close to her and not spark something sexual.

"Graham Lucas," Regina breathed as she pulled back, and Emma struggled to keep up with her lover's whiplash moods.

"Huh?" A task at which she eloquently succeeded. Regina grinned and propped herself on elbows on either side of Emma's head.

"For a boy," she clarified and kissed Emma's nose. Emma nodded after a moment.

"It's perfect," she whispered and buried her hands in black hair.

"I'm going to go see Eva and ask if she can harvest my eggs while I'm here this week. I know it's not her specialty, but I'm not sure if I trust anyone to do it without her supervision. We can wait until you've finished your undergraduate program if you'd like, but I'd like her to harvest as my eggs as soon as possible." Regina elaborated in between kisses on Emma's jaw line.

"You okay to go on your own? I could come back the night before the procedure and leave Henry with Felicia," Emma offered and tilted her head back to accommodate Regina's lips despite her better judgment. The bottom of her belly still ached from the lack of release this morning.

"I'll take Ruby or Belle. I have to be sedated, I think, so she'll only have to drive me to the house. It's not an invasive procedure, so there isn't a need for you to drive here and back to Boston in less than 24 hours, Darling. I'll be perfectly fine," Regina pulled back to look into Emma's eyes as she set her mind at ease.

Emma pulled Regina in for another kiss, sighing when Regina's hips rolled against hers.

"Public," she mumbled around plum-colored lips. "Very, very public."

"I'm not wearing any underwear," was Regina's answer against the shell of Emma's ear.

Emma's stomach clenched and goose bumps erupted beneath her jacket. This woman meant to kill her. She was certain of it.

"Seriously? After this morning, you are ready to go again?" Emma pushed on her shoulders, prying insistent lips from her neck.

"Someone interrupted her turn with a proposition of marriage," Regina said accusingly and allowed Emma to push her into a sitting position. She grinned wickedly and squeezed Emma's breasts, already feeling her hardened nipples beneath the padding.

"Regina, public. Very, very public," Emma tried one more time, her resolve slipping. "Oh god, why did you do that?" Emma rolled her hips into Regina's when the fingers on her breasts squeezed and pulled gently at her nipples through her shirt and bra.

"Is sex in a cemetery on your wish list of sexcapades?" Emma strained around the words and grabbed at the stimulating hands on her breasts. Regina allowed her to remove her hands without resistance but ground her hips into the ones beneath her. Emma sighed into the heat seeping through her jeans

"Not a cemetery necessarily, but I do enjoy sex outside," Regina answered huskily, her voice belying the arousal Emma already felt from her uncovered center. Emma was already wound for sound from the lack of reciprocity earlier. It was the first time it had ever happened, but the circumstances were extraordinary. It wasn't everyday that one proposed to a woman like Regina Mills.

"Cloak us," Emma ordered and sat up, dislodging Regina's hips to her thighs. "Cloak us," she repeated, lips against Regina's throat.

Emma gasped and nearly fell back again when electricity pulled through her body, heightening everything she already felt. Her face fell into Regina's chest as a cross between a throaty moan and a hollow scream tore from her throat. Regina smirked down at her lover, knowing exactly how intense it felt to have someone pull your own magic through you intentionally. If Emma wasn't aroused before, she certainly was now. She slumped against Regina's chest, panting as she gathered her bearings.

"Anyone wandering by will still be able to hear us," Regina warned and pushed the jacket from her shoulders.

"Then shut up and put your tongue to better use," Emma demanded, already pulling at the button on her jeans.

Across the cemetery, two sets of eyes watched the women disappear in a swirl of bright blue and purple haze, indicative of both Emma and Regina's magic. Light and Dark magic combined for the cloaking spell.

"Was that her?" The dark woman asked and glanced up at her lover.

"That was Emma, but she can't wield magic. The Evil Queen, on the other hand, must have her and the whole town in some sort of thrall," the man answered, anger welling at the misuse of power that had always surrounded The Evil Queen and the Dark One.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Neal? What if Emma really loves her?" A hint of jealousy slid into her voice at the name of her lover's ex-girlfriend.

"I'm sure, Tamara. Emma isn't gay for starters. She's not the settling type. Too jumpy, too broken. She needs to run. She can't help herself. It's how you know she really loves you; she runs away from you," Neal explained and turned away from the seemingly empty cemetery.

"Doing this will destroy the wielder. Your father, her lover, they will both die. Are you prepared for that?" Tamara clarified one more time, more for her sake than his.

"I'm sure. Just wait until Emma leaves town before taking her. Scuttlebutt is that she will be leaving tomorrow afternoon. Tell Mendell he has until then to play with the Dark One," Neal said.

He steeled his nerves for what must be done and prayed that Emma hadn't actually fallen in love with Regina Mills. It looked good from the outside, but magic deceived even the sharpest and most observant eyes. He hurt her enough already, and for nothing, it appeared. She hadn't defeated The Evil Queen, hadn't released the queen's people from her thrall. She was actually adored, loved by most of them, and the rest acted as though they overcame their fear of her wraith and rage.

He shook with rage as his old flame for Emma ignited from smoking embers. Bedding Snow White's daughter must be her icing on the cake. He kicked the tire of his car over and over until his anger lessened to something manageable. Emma wasn't a toy. She was the love of his life, and he vowed to free her from The Evil Queen's grasp if it was the last thing he did.


	6. I Won't Let Go

So, this scene kept bugging me, so I had to write it even though it wasn't originally planned. Now that it is written, it makes perfect sense that it's included… at least to me, anyway. We never really found out what happened to Ruby in captivity/ under Cora's thrall. This is my attempt to rectify that.

Songs: Beauty and the Beast as performed by Angela Lansbury (seriously, this song has a whole new meaning to me now), All of Me by Jasmine Thompson

* * *

Ruby slipped into the library unseen. Giggles echoed from the stacks, and she turned her head, honing in on the sound. Her heart felt heavier with each step, but the time had come. She no longer hid her damage, not that keeping it between her and Regina had done much good anyway. She pulled her cloak tighter with one hand and gripped Belle's green tea with the other as she rounded the stack.

Henry and Belle sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor surrounded by little piles of books stacked haphazardly. Belle read from one with exaggerated flourish, hand on her puffed up chest for emphasis, while Henry giggled hysterically. Despite her dark mood, a genuine smile spread slowly, and she sunk behind the shelf unseen. She knelt on the other side and watched her lover entertain the little boy who had stolen all of their hearts.

Henry had grown up and regressed so much in the past year. He seemed more innocent, more naïve, but at the same time, his capacity for forgiveness had grown exponentially. He no longer feared one mother while hero-worshipping the other. They were simply women to him now, flawed and strong and wonderful women who loved him more than anything.

Belle deepened her voice and flexed her nonexistent bicep, pretending to be some sort of jolly fellow, probably the comic relief if Henry's cackles were any indication. Ruby's chest shook and veins popped on her neck with the effort of holding her own laughter. It slipped out of puffed cheeks in a rush, and she stood abruptly and rounded the stacks. Belle's shoulders relaxed when she realized who had been spying on them, but a hesitant smile told Ruby that she still worried.

"Hey, I brought you some tea," she said shyly and leaned over Henry to hand her the foam cup. Belle accepted it hesitantly and took a sip, humming into the warm liquid.

"Green tea, mint leaves, not extract, and a teaspoon of honey," Ruby mumbled and shoved her hands into her jeans self-consciously. Belle's eyebrows raised in surprise, and Ruby blushed, suddenly shy that she'd known Belle's favorite tea.

"Hey, Henry, will you grab a book and go upstairs until your moms come to get you in an hour? I need to talk to Belle about something really important," Ruby knelt beside the boy and spoke to him on his level but not condescendingly.

"Can I go help Granny instead? There's something important that I need to talk with her about," he turned Ruby's words back on her, and the wolf smiled down at him.

"Okay, I'll walk you over. I'll be right back, Belle," she promised and held her lover's big blue eyes for a long, emotional moment as they stood. She clapped Henry around the shoulder and steered him towards the front of the library.

"Bye Belle!" He called over his shoulder.

"So, what's going on between you and Granny?" Ruby asked neutrally, mostly just to make the walk pass faster.

"Hero stuff. I need to ask her opinion about something," Henry explained cryptically, and Ruby smiled at the hint of Regina in his secrecy.

"Alright, Kiddo. Look both ways," Ruby instructed when they reached the sidewalk and pushed his shoulder. She waited until he disappeared into the diner and then closed and locked the library doors.

Belle sat primly at the desk, legs crossed and elbows propped on the arms of the old wooden chair. She held her tea with both hands in front of her breasts. A worried line furrowed into her face, and Ruby pulled the blinds over the windows.

"I wasn't aware you paid attention enough to know my favorite tea," Belle clipped, a hardened edge in her voice.

Ruby took her by surprise earlier with tenderness and dancing capabilities, but now that they were alone, her ever-present anger reappeared. She and Henry were having fun, and Ruby barged in and ruined it. Tea be damned, no matter how sweet the gesture. Emma was right when she warned her earlier that she may have already lost Belle. She determined to try. Perhaps true love contended unconditional forgiveness as well as love.

Ruby approached slowly, and Belle's anger faltered. Something was different. An openness shone in Ruby's eyes that hadn't been there since the day they made love the first time. That solitary expression poured a soothing balm over the embers of her anger, like a bucket of cold water spreading slowly over cobblestones. Her heart pounded furiously, and her chest heaved, matching it's pace.

Ruby knelt and pressed her forehead into her knee. Belle's hands jerked with the urge to reach out to her, and she pulled them back just in time to save her tea from spilling everywhere. Whatever happened, it was going to change everything, and Belle prayed their fraying relationship found a strong thread and clung tightly.

"When you thought I was dead, I was on Hook's ship chained in hull. It smelled awful, like death. It smelled like a room right after someone died," Ruby started, her voice devoid of emotion. She'd shut them all down in order to recount the horrific experience.

"Ruby, you don't have to do this," Belle gave her an out. She wanted to know, but not if Ruby confided in her against her will or because she thought she used leaving her as leverage to gain insight into her suffering.

"Damn it, Belle," Ruby bit and then took a calming breath. She pulled her cloaked tighter with one hand and slid the other around Belle's calf hanging in the air.

"I really need you not to say anything or I won't be able to do this," she continued more gently, thankful that her cloak controlled her wolf's rage. She'd worn it for this purpose since wolf's time began in three days. Rage already beat against her skull without the added stress of wolfing out over the smallest hiccups in her confession.

"Okay," Belle said softly a moment before small fingers brushed her hair and then disappeared.

Ruby steadied her beating heart, regained control of her emotions and waited. The pause lingered so long that Belle nearly asked her to continue twice before clamping her mouth shut. Finally, Ruby took a deep breath and pressed her forehead painfully into her knee.

"Cora had my heart. She replaced it with her own. My thoughts and actions were my own for the most part, but I was powerless to resist her will when she pushed. Hook… he didn't know when we… when he," she sighed in frustration.

"We had sex," she forced out, and Belle gasped inaudibly. Her heart broke as she finally realized Ruby's resistance to her touch. Ruby swallowed thickly and took another deep breath, hand twitching against her calf.

"I tried to resist, but the more I fought, the angrier I became. Somehow, she tapped my wolf's rage. He thought I acted of my own free will, and he… it was painful, a bit more than I like," she laughed once. It was a hollow, broken sound that might have been mistaken for a sob by the casual observer.

"A lot more than I like. I cried out in my mind for him to stop. I felt her watching. She… got off on my pain, like she felt it. She probably did since our lifelines were connected."

She paused again. "I cried out for you," Ruby lost grip on her control. "Belle," she whined around a sob. "I called to you in my mind. I wanted his touch to be yours, even the painful ones. When I closed my eyes to escape, she forced them open. When I imagined your voice, she replaced it with her own. I was hers, completely, even in my mind."

Her sobs flowed freely now. Tears dripped onto smooth skin at a disturbing rate. Belle sat her tea on the desk and slowly uncrossed her leg, hoping Ruby fell further into her instead of pulling away. Before this happened, she predicted Ruby's actions perfectly, but now she was lost. When Ruby clung tightly to her legs, she spread them and trailed tentative fingers over silky brown and red hair.

Ruby broke completely and flung herself forward into Belle's chest, violent and hollow sobs echoing on the library walls. Her long hands grabbed her ribs, wrapping around her back easily with firm fingertips. Belle's mouth fell open at the sudden weight against her and forced deep silent breaths through her mouth. She glanced down but only saw brown and red and felt furious sobs against her chest.

She rested her cheek against Ruby's soft hair, surprised to find hot tears on her own face. She held her quivering lover with loose hands, afraid she'd make Ruby feel trapped if she held her too tightly. After a few minutes, Ruby calmed but remained in Belle's soft embrace. Belle yearned to whisper words of comfort, but Ruby asked her not to and she wanted desperately for the wolf to communicate openly as she just had.

"She hurt me," Ruby rasped and swallowed audibly. "Tortured me in the four days it took Regina to find me. Wolves are tough. It's usually a blessing, but in this case, it took twice as long for her to achieve the desired affect. Physical violence wasn't enough. She had to resort to magic. Those scars on my chest… they look like knife wounds, but they're not.

"She used magic to cut me, and when Hook refused, to beat me. She split me open, healed me, and then did it again. I begged her to do it over an over like an obedient dog following her abusive master's commands. It took Hook two days to realize that my will was not my own. He had the decency to take off, but not the nobility to try and rescue me. Regina," she choked on her friend's name.

Belle kissed her head, determined to love Ruby through the pain. She understood. Regina, despite being accused of her murder and abandoned by everyone she thought in her corner, betrayed her mother and risked a similar fate to save her. It created a bond with the wolf deeper than even she fathomed.

"I almost told her that my heart wasn't my own, but Cora sensed that I'd been saved. I wasn't strong enough to tell her that I was betraying her by simply living. She misunderstood and checked for my heart. She felt Cora's. Cora loved her, so it felt like mine when she touched it.

"I tried to tell them that I wasn't myself by cussing more than usual and drinking myself into a stupor every day, but they thought I was just angry and mourning the loss of your memories. It wasn't their fault, but I was so alone. I stayed with Regina and Henry until Emma was released from the hospital.

"She visited me at night, Cora did. I tried to kill myself."

Belle gasped out loud at the revelation, and Ruby's body went rigid. Blue eyes clamped shut as Belle held her breath. She silently begged Ruby to continue. The wolf relaxed after a moment and slid her arms around her waist, fingertips resting on her ribs. Belle's chest deflated in relief.

"I almost succeed twice. I fought her control enough to cut my wrists, but she healed me. The second time I tried to shoot myself. The gun was in my mouth. I pulled the trigger, but she showed up again and immobilized me and the bullet. I was so close to killing her. We were linked. I understood that much at least, and I was so close that the bullet burned the back of my throat. I gagged on it when she pulled it out with her magic.

"I didn't want to die, but you were gone. I tried to do what I thought was necessary in order to protect Regina and Henry and Emma… everyone really. I didn't want to live as her plaything anymore. She was so lonely and so angry and vengeful.

"She didn't rape me, but she touched me a lot. My stomach and chest and breasts. We laid in bed beside each other, and she just touched me for hours. She liked to kiss my throat for some reason. I don't know if she liked the dominance or if she genuinely wanted to physically touch someone. Both, maybe. Either way, I was trapped inside my own mind. Completely powerless." She fell silent.

Belle listened to the sound of their breaths synchronizing. She hadn't understood Ruby's resistance to her touch or her inability to follow-thru with sexual advances. How she managed to make love to her the few times she had in the past eight months made Belle fall in love with her all over again. Ruby hadn't been ignoring her, that much was obvious by bringing her favorite tea to this conversation. She hadn't grown sick of her inexperience. She struggled with thoughts and memories far more vicious than the physical torture she endured.

"Ruby," she whispered when she realized that Ruby had ended her confessional for the moment. "Sweetheart, why didn't you say anything before? I didn't know. I didn't have my memories when all of this happened, and then we got caught up in your recovery and the move to Boston and then moving into a new house and making a home."

"I'm sorry," Ruby's apology rumbled against her chest, and Belle's eyes rolled towards the ceiling as she fought her tears.

"Ruby, why didn't you tell me? Not everything, just something to let me know that you needed time? All those nights… you never really wanted to make love to me, and you used your call to Regina as an excuse. Why would you do that instead of just telling me the truth?" Belle released her frustration, not sure if she wanted to kiss her lover or kill her.

"You needed me to be strong for you. What Gold did… you didn't exactly want me to touch you for a while either," Ruby explained as gently as possible.

"I'm not made of glass, Ruby Lucas. I had an abortion, not a lobotomy." Belle's forceful tone cracked in spite of her best effort.

Ruby pulled back and caught her partner's gaze. Belle smoothed her hair back with both hands, finding her strength in those milk chocolate eyes. When she spoke again, her voice regained its gentleness.

"Imagine watching me go through that, knowing I was holding something back from you but not knowing what. What if you hadn't known when I pushed you away all those times you tried to kiss me? All those nights I woke up sobbing uncontrollably?" She presented a reversed situation, and Ruby lowered her eyes. Belle brought it back with a hand on her cheek.

"You were there for me, even though you fought with your own demons most nights. Let me be there for you. Let me in. There are many things in this world that I need protection from, Sweetheart, but you aren't one of them. I won't run away unless you make me feel unwanted." Belle's eyes shimmered with tears as the truth behind her words opened her heart to the other woman once again.

"Don't leave me," Ruby whined and dropped her forehead to Belle's chest.

The librarian wrapped her arms around Ruby's head and back and held her loosely, still unbelieving that Ruby had finally returned to her.

"I'm not going anywhere," Belle promised.

Wet lips pressed against her throat, and Belle sighed, tears slipping beneath her eyelids. Hands pulled at red-streaked hair, and the lips moved upwards. They held them there for a moment, readjusting to the old flood of affection and arousal. Ruby moved first, and Belle followed. They fell into their old rhythm easily, and Ruby pulled back far enough to see Belle's bright baby blues.

"Take my cloak off," she whispered.

Belle blinked rapidly with the gravity of the almost inaudible request. Ruby's control lay with her cloak, and she'd just given it to Belle. Trembling fingers slowly untied the string at her lover's neck. Ruby gasped and closed her eyes as the wolf filled her veins. Belle watched the transformation and clutched the fabric in one hand in case Ruby changed her mind.

"Bring it with you," Ruby whispered without opening her eyes and then lifted the tiny librarian from the chair.

Belle clutched the enchanted fabric to her chest and allowed Ruby to maneuver her arms beneath her legs and back. She carried her up the stairs to the loft on the second floor as if she were only a book, and her soul lifted as the wolf's unwavering strength and love surrounded her for the first time in months.

Ruby set her gently on the cool bed, and Belle whirled the cloak around her lover once more. It covered both of them as she accepted Ruby's weight. She hooked her heels around Ruby's thighs and kicked them off the bed. Ruby smiled when they clattered against the wood.

"I freak out when I feel like I'm losing control," Ruby stared down at her with wide serious eyes. "I don't need a wolf's moon to feel like I'm coming apart at the seems when you touch me."

"I don't need anything more than this right now, Sweetheart. I just want to feel you here with me again. You've been so far away for so long," Belle set her mind at ease and smiled at the honesty behind the words. This moment of intimacy equaled a hundred orgasms in her opinion.

"Are you sure? I could try," the waitress offered shyly and kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Ruby, look at me." She did. "I only need this," she reiterated, blinking back tears when Ruby's eyes started to believe her words.

She held her weight on her elbows, hands slipping beneath Belle's shoulders, and lowered her mouth to the one below hers. It was slow, gentle, much like their first kisses at the bottom of Regina's stairs had been. Belle slid her hands underneath her shirt and rested them on the heated skin of her lover's back. She pressed her head into the bed and studied Ruby's dark eyes when she pulled up.

"Do you think I made the right decision? Please, tell me your honest opinion, even if you disagreed with my decision," Belle pleaded. Ruby chewed her bottom lip and scrupulously considered the question.

"I'm not sure I could have made the same one, but I think it was the right thing to do. I mean, we're both disasters right now. Gold would stop at nothing to get his child. God, he manipulated Regina into cursing an entire population just to be in the same realm as Baelfire. You said yourself that he figured out how to cross the boundary, but he refuses to share it with anyone else.

"He would have torn us apart and anyone else who stood in his way. What kind of life would that child have had? I'll always love it, and I know you will, too. But it was the right thing to do. You're so strong. I don't know that I could have gone through with it, but I support your decision, no matter what. I'll never judge you for it if that's what you're worried about. And no one else needs to know." Belle's eyes widened.

"You haven't told Regina?" Ruby jerked back in shock at the absurd question.

"Of course not. That's for you and you alone to tell if you ever have a desire to. I'd never tell anyone, not even Regina, and Eva is bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. Even without her memories, she understands the importance of keeping this from him forever."

Ruby assured her lover that no matter how much she may have wanted to discuss the loss of what would have been, on some level, her child with her best friend, it was more important that no one else ever know.

"You're incredible," Belle praise reverently.

"I might be a scruffy emotionally constipated mongrel lately, but I'd never betray you," Ruby smiled and pressed her lips to Belle's.

The librarian squeaked against her mouth when Ruby pulled her upright. Hands slid up her body, dragging the flimsy dress with it. Confusion filled Belle's thoughts, but she raised her arms anyway and allowed Ruby to pull the material free of her hair. She unsnapped her bra next, dropping a kiss to her collarbone and guiding it down her arms. Belle watched her with wide eyes, unsure how to react to the unusual situation.

"I just want to feel you." Ruby reinforced her words with a chaste kiss and then rolled off the bed and removed everything but her cloak.

Belle slid between the sheets and watched her partner undress. The scars on her chest and stomach reflected brighter against the light today, but she recognized the mind trick for what it was. She finally knew how Ruby obtained them. Brown eyes followed blue, and Ruby fought the urge to cover the jagged white lines on her skin. She had opened herself up earlier and accepted that she'd be reopening herself every time Belle acknowledged her scars in the future.

After a moment, she followed the desire to be next to Belle's naked body. Skin slid against skin, and two reverent sighs filled the small apartment. Ruby surprised both of them when she laid her head on Belle's chest and wrapped her arm around her waist loosely. The red cloak covered them, so they left the comforter bunched their hips. Well, Belle's hips and Ruby's ribs.

Ruby traced the valley between her lover's abundant breasts with two fingers, reacquainting herself with the skin as she settled into the warmth of the embrace. She revealed her darkest secrets and Belle stayed firmly and willingly at her side. She pressed her lips to the swell of flesh near her mouth and battled the urge to run. Belle must have sensed her growing panic because a moment later fingertips traced her spine and a hand covered her arm.

"It's okay, Sweetheart. I won't let go. I won't let you fall apart," Belle whispered and dropped a kiss to her hair.

Something inside Ruby crashed into her last battlement, and a torrent of silent tears slid onto Belle's chest and trickled into the valley between her breasts. Both women let them run freely and held each other as though they'd never have the chance again. They had a long road ahead of them before they recovered completely, but it was a start.


	7. Fingerprints

JET, I haven't a clue how she hadn't seen Xena!

Everyone else, Enjoy lovelies!

Songs: Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows, Rescue Me by Kerrie Roberts.

* * *

"Alright, okay… so, you get these hormone injection things, rag for a month and then get your eggs sucked out with a needle? Like little oysters." Emma squinted at the pamphlet in the package Eva gave them. Turns out the process of harvesting eggs involved a lot more than they anticipated.

"That is the crudest possible explanation, but yes," Regina answered for the third time and pulled Emma's blue leather jacket tighter around her torso. Apparently, the idea was much more appealing to Emma when she hadn't completely understood it.

"That month is going to suck," Emma whispered and froze in place in front of the door of Granny's diner. Regina rolled her eyes and snatched the papers from her lover's limp hand and shoved them into her purse. They weren't quite sharing this bit with everyone yet.

Regina took two steps towards Granny's, stopped and whirled on her fiancée. Emma's face was white, and she looked as though she might have puked if she thought about it. A person would have thought Emma was going through the procedure. Regina rolled her eyes again, reluctant grin spreading despite her irritation.

"Emma," she whispered. No response. She ducked her head and licked Emma's throat.

"What are you doing?" Emma snapped from her stupor, and Regina smirked against her neck.

"We must work on your deductive reasoning skills," Regina whispered saucily and sucked against Emma's bite mark she'd given her in Boston. Luckily, no one had commented on it yet, which means Ruby was really fucked up and distracted right now.

"Regina, public. Oh god, woman!" Emma tore away from Regina's hands and lips when she trailed a thumb nail down the zipper of her jeans, sending tendrils of delicious vibration into her sensitive flesh. She'd forgone her underwear earlier after their cloaked love-making in the cemetery and regretted it in that moment.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Emma asked with a smug grin and allowed Regina to pull them together again with insistent hands on her waist.

Regina clasped her hands around Emma's hips and batted her eyes as if saying that she'd behave. Emma rewarded her with a chaste kiss for good behavior and wrapped her arms around her back. Regina tucked her head into the side of Emma's neck and sighed into the embrace.

"Maybe the idea of being yours excites me," Regina admitted quietly, and Emma's heart melted.

"Legal commitment turns you on?" Emma deadpanned, and Regina slapped her ass as she pulled back.

"I'm fairy tale character," Regina huffed defensively and crossed her arms, jostling Emma from the embrace abruptly. "Leave my quirks alone."

Emma's shoulders shook silently at first, and then giggled before laughing outright. Regina rolled her eyes and backed Emma towards the door of Granny's. She almost fell over twice as she fumbled with the stairs and giggled at the same time. Her back pressed against the door, and Regina reached for the knob. Emma stopped her with a kiss.

"Emma, Snow is expecting us in 10 minutes," Regina sobered enough to say the words, but Emma's laughter and flushed face infected her soul.

"Which means we have five to do this," Emma said seriously and wrapped her arms around Regina's neck, smashing their lips together and leaning their weight against the door. Regina pressed her forehead into Emma's and pulled her lips away. Emma pouted.

"I don't want you to go to Boston tomorrow," she admitted quietly. The muscles in Emma's jaw clenched. She hadn't even considered the fact that she had to leave her new fiancée the day after proposing, and the thought stung.

"I don't want to go without you, but this town is your baby, too. Figure out what is going on the Mendell and Ruby and then we can plan our wedding," Emma forced out, not wanting to be the hero anymore, not if it meant leaving Regina's side for even a night.

Regina nodded but withheld comment in lieu of kissing Emma again. She teased the blonde's bottom lip with teeth and tongue, and Emma hungrily accepted the hot muscle into her mouth. A deep moan vibrated in her throat, and Regina answered it by skimming her fingers under the hem of Emma's shirt.

She squawked indignantly when the support pulled away from her back. Regina caught herself on the door frame instinctively as she fell forward and covered her mouth with three fingertips as Emma landed in an adorable heap on the linoleum of Granny's. Emma grumbled and blew a strand of hair from her eyes to glare at the man who had unknowingly interrupted a very important and public make out session.

"Neal?" Her heart stopped for a second and then turned her stomach with its rapid pounding. Regina sobered at the anger and pain in Emma's eyes.

"Hello Emma," Neal smiled down at her lover in a way that made Regina uncomfortable. Why was his name familiar?

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma growled and bounced to her feet.

Without waiting for an answer, she pulled back and decked the man in the mouth. Silence followed as everyone in the diner stared in shock. Emma Swan wasn't known for her subtly, but she rarely attacked without provocation, except Regina Mills, but those days had passed a while ago.

He winced, pressed the back of his hand to his mouth and then chuckled. His smug eyes compelled her to repeat the motion, and she grinned at the sickening crunch of nose cartilage beneath her knuckles. This time he grabbed his face and doubled over, tears burning his eyes. He suffered worst, but it still hurt like hell.

"Damn it, Emma! I'm here to see my dad!" He growled around his hands.

"Who?" She stopped abruptly in light of the information. "Your dad is here?"

"Rumpelstiltskin," he said.

"You knew the whole fucking time. Who I was. Where I was from," Emma's voice was calm and deep and murderous. Regina almost reached for her lover's arm but held back.

Emma kicked the back of his knee with a cry of frustrated betrayal and pushed on his shoulder at the same time. His back slammed into the floor with a pained grunt, and Emma stomped off towards the kitchen. She returned a moment later, fists clenched at her sides. Regina simply raised an eyebrow but held her tongue when Emma grabbed her hand and pulled her through the door. It slammed behind them, and the angry woman's chest heaved with her effort to control her emotions.

"That's the man I went to jail for," she said through clenched teeth. The pieces fell into place for Regina. Neal Cassidy. He was Baelfire, the long lost son of the Dark One?

"Emma," she started, but Emma waved her hand in dismissal.

"Don't." She stomped down the side walk and met Henry as he rounded the diner. That's why she'd gone to the kitchen.

Regina followed a few steps behind, pulling Emma's jacket around her more tightly. She told herself the sudden chill in her spine came from the crisp evening air, but even that sounded too fake in her mind. Whatever happened between Neal and Emma still affected her lover deeply, which meant she either hadn't dealt with the pain or she still cared for the man. Add either of those to the fact that he might have fathered their son, and Regina's skin crawled.

Emma disappeared into the bathroom when they reached Snow and David's. Henry slammed into his grandmother, unaware of the tension surrounding the three women. Snow and Regina locked gazes for a brief moment before the younger dropped a kiss on her grandson's head.

"Henry, will you do me a big favor and set the table? I've set everything out, but I need your mom's help in the kitchen," she pleaded convincingly with the boy who puffed up his chest and set about his task.

"What's happened?" Snow whispered and glanced over her shoulder, ensuring Henry stayed out of earshot.

"Baelfire, Gold's son. He's here under the name Neal Cassidy. He and Emma have met before," Regina answered quickly.

"Neal? _The_ Neal?" Snow blurted, and Regina nodded but said nothing else.

The chopped salad vegetables in silence, shoulder to shoulder, and Snow smiled. She had first learned to accept Regina as a person and then as her daughter's true love. Now, an uncomfortable wiggle of affection swelled in her chest for the woman who might have been her friend in a different life. Was it possible that she and Regina might permanently bury the hatchet and love each other again? Snow jerked back to reality when Regina touched her hand, clearly irritated that she wasn't listening anymore.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" She apologized, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"I asked where your idiot was hiding," Regina snipped and tossed her sliced cucumber into the bowl.

"Oh," Snow dropped her head and chopped unenthusiastically. "He's not coming. He and Captain are at the station. He's struggling, and I don't know how to help him. I just wish I had the ability to read minds," Snow babbled. Regina licked her lips in irritation.

"Snow, Dear?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she pulled her step-daughter back to reality. "Assuming I actually cared, what traumatic childhood brain damage led you to believe that I wish to discuss your Neanderthal's issues after his abhorrent treatment of my fiancée this morning? I tolerate him for her, not out of any sense of nobility or hope of redemption."

Regina snipped and turned on her heel, intending to check on Emma's wellbeing. She stopped, however, at Snow's soft voice.

"And me?" She sounded so very much like that little girl she rescued from the runaway horse. Her spine and shoulders straightened instinctively at the uncomfortable question.

"As I examine my past more closely, I have come to the realization that I may have unjustly accused you of Daniel's death," she strained, the words nearly killing her from the inside out.

"Mother already knew of our liaisons. He was destined to die at her hand the moment he fell in love with me," Regina continued. She adjusted her shoulders and cleared her throat.

"You saved Ruby's life that night in the cellar, and mine. In doing so, you protected the woman I love from something that would surely have haunted her for the rest of her life. Ruby survived that night because you shot her with arrows instead of bullets. Emma most likely would have killed her." She licked her lips and released a shaky breath.

"Despite your murderously irritating optimism, these actions have endeared you to me," Regina murmured with down turned eyes and then bolted towards the bathroom.

"Emma?" She called gently and then opened the door, knowing full well her partner did anything but the intended use for this room.

"What are you doing?" She closed the door quickly and leaned against it.

Emma stood at the sink and stared at the smeared blood on her knuckles. Several q-tips covered in the same liquid were displayed neatly atop a tissue on the cheap porcelain vanity. Emma's body shook with the tension of her tightened muscles.

"We need to know if he's Rumpelstiltskin's grandson," Emma whispered, her voice deep and calm and terrifying.

"Emma," Regina started but realized she had no clue what to say. She slid Emma's jacket from her shoulders as she stepped forward. It fell in a heap by the door.

"Emma," she said again and turned on the water. The savior offered no resistance when she wrapped her fingers around her wrist and lowered to the cold stream.

"Everything in my life has his fingerprints all over it," Emma whispered and scrubbed at her hand furiously.

"Darling, we don't know that," Regina said and tucked a strand of tangled hair behind her ear.

"I'm having a paternity test done when I get to Boston. Dr. Isles might be able to rush one for me in the crime lab," she turned off the water with shaking fingers and turned to Regina.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Emma gritted her teeth as the dark emotions pulled through her. Regina gasped when rough hands pulled their lips together and whirled her into the wall opposite the sink. The force knocked the breath from her lungs and dazed her momentarily. Emma kissed and nipped down her jaw as her hands hiked her skirt.

Calloused fingers cupped her and kneading the sensitive flesh roughly. There was a desperation in Emma's movements, and Regina almost told her to stop, briefly considering this might have been something that Emma regretted. All protests died when three fingers entered her painfully, taking her at a furious pace from the start.

She was sore from being fisted and their romp in the cemetery and not quite wet enough to find Emma's penetration pleasurable.

Even in her daze, Emma sensed her unease and dropped to her knees without removing her fingers. Her free hand pushed Regina's skirt to her hips. She wet her tongue and pressed the flat of it onto that hardened bundle of nerves at eye level, moving it up and slowly. She wanted to fuck Regina hard and wanted Regina to enjoy it to. Stimulating her with her tongue was merely a means to an end, the end being Regina producing enough fluid to endure another pounding.

"Emma, I don't know if…" Regina stopped mid-sentence when Emma wet her tongue and returned it to her clit.

"Do you want me to stop?" Emma asked, lips and warm air ghosting over her lover's sensitive flesh. Regina shivered and gave into her desire over her sensibility. This wasn't about her or making love or connecting with each other. Emma needed a release, and she intended to use dominating Regina as the outlet.

"No," Regina breathed and tangled her hands in blonde hair. Emma growled and dove back in.

Regina fisted her hair tightly and held Emma against her. Her knees wobbled when three finger moved inside of her again. Emma sucked on the nub and released it with a pop, apparently satisfied with the amount of wetness on her fingers. Demanding lips captured Regina's when Emma sprang up and pressed into her.

Emma slammed into her clenching center, and her head thumped against the wall, breaking the kiss. Lips moved to her throat, and she caught her moan a moment before it escaped her mouth. Emma pulled back when she wrapped both of her arms around her neck for balance. Emma braced her free hand against the wall and locked gazes with the panting woman beneath her.

Fingers slid in and out easily now, moving Regina bodily with each upward thrust. Sweat tickled at Emma's back, and she grinned into the burn of her forearm when the resistance of those addicting velvet walls finally increased. Regina pulled her in for a chaste kiss, lacking the air for anything heavier.

Emma loved this part. Regina's forehead furrowed. Her eyes became distant and unfocused even though they held hers. As her orgasm rocked her body, her mouth dropped open in a silent scream.

Emma grunted when her neck took the brunt of Regina's dead weight and immediately wrapped both arms around her waist. Disappointment clenched in her gut when she realized that she'd not be able to draw it out longer for Regina. It was followed almost immediately by guilt. What she'd done represented everything she despised in this world.

It wasn't about Regina's pleasure. It was about taking what she wanted, how she wanted, when she wanted. And Regina allowed her. A spontaneous sob erupted from Emma's throat and her head dropped to Regina's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered around the tightness in her throat. "I'm so sorry, Baby. Regina, Baby, I'm sorry." Emma babbled almost incoherently.

Regina somehow found her balance on shaky legs and leaned into the wall, pulling Emma into her. She simply held the quivering blonde against her chest and recovered her wits. She had feared this would happen, and now the pieces belonged to her, became her responsibility to reassemble.

"Em, I'm okay. I love you," she whispered into Emma's hair. "I love you, Emma." She pushed Emma back and took her face in both hands, forcing green eyes to meet hers.

"I love you." She repeated, and Emma nodded, spilling more tears onto her cheeks.

"You're the only thing in my life that he hasn't touched, Emma. We were never supposed to happen. We were meant to be enemies, to hate each other. I know how dirty his touch feels. That's why this feels so clean and right and beautiful. Don't be sorry because you're the only thing he has never manipulated into my life. That's why he wouldn't heal you when you were shot, Emma. Our union terrifies him." Regina paused and let those words find Emma's heart. Green eyes widened with new understanding, and Regina smiled.

"As for what just occurred, I trust you. You'd never hurt me, Emma. I believe that with all of my heart, My Beautiful Darling. And if I hadn't wanted it, I'd have asked you to stop. I'm afraid my motives weren't entirely altruistic, however. I seem to be addicted to the feeling of you inside of me," she finished lightly, wicked smirk in place.

Emma's stomach grumbled, and both women dropped their eyes to the sound.

"Wonderful timing. I think I'll enjoy dinner with you mother much more if we christen her bathroom beforehand each time. Pleasant thoughts to ponder when she babbles incessantly and my brain shuts down." Regina said regally and sniffed, and Emma chuckled.

"Just another minute," Emma said and tucked her head into Regina's neck. Regina settled into the wall once more and accepted the weight of her lover.

"I love you, too, Regina. So much." Her words broke with the honesty behind them, and Regina dropped a kiss to her forehead.

"We've overcome every obstacle thrown at us. This, too, shall pass and see us strengthened on the other side. People know the depth and strength of my hatred and vengeance, but they fail to see that my love runs deeper and stronger. With everything that I am, I swear I will keep you and Henry and even your insipid mother and idiot father safe." Regina made her vow, and Emma chuckled at the description of her parents. They grew on Regina; she sensed it.

"And I'll be right there at your side, keeping the same promise," Emma whispered and pulled back enough to press a kiss to Regina's mouth.

Together, they shouldered the responsibility of savior, if not of their people then of each other, and Emma couldn't have loved the dark woman more if she tried.


	8. Control

Again, these scenes weren't originally planned, but I think they're important, considering Ruby was the heroine in my last tale.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Tight Fittin' Jeans and Slow Hand by Conway Twitty

* * *

Gentle music played in the kitchen. Ruby resisted the urge to change the station to something more upbeat and crank the volume to something that would have inspired Regina to singe her fur. The old country made Belle happy, though, and as she listened closely to the lyrics, she found that perhaps it wasn't _that_ terrible, especially since her partner in fact wore some "tight fittin' jeans" of her own this morning. Ruby loved her skirts and dresses, but when Belle wore her solitary pair of jeans, she went straight up stupid for the timid librarian. She hadn't a clue how her natural sensuality effected the wolf.

Ruby cleared her throat for the hundredth time and tried to pry her eyes from the gently swaying hips of her partner as she made breakfast for their little family. Belle took Sunday's off from the library and usually dressed down for gardening or housework, and Ruby kicked herself for not being around more in the past year to witness the truly stunning sight of her prissy lover in the simple v-neck and of course her jeans with her hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail. She shifted uncomfortably on the stool and wrapped herself in her cloak like a cocoon.

"Do you need help?" Her voice rasped and broke, and she gulped coffee, knowing not all of it came from lack of sleep.

"Perhaps when it's time to crisp the bread. There's not much to do except stir and wait," she explained needlessly as she turned to face her lover. Ruby was up to inherit a home-cooking diner after all. She knew how to make fried potatoes.

Ruby cleared her throat again and hid behind her coffee cup when her eyes refused to move from the valley of Belle's breasts peeping above the hemline of her shirt. Belle narrowed her eyes and set her hands on her hips when she followed Ruby's hazy brown eyes. She almost berated the waitress for the objectifying stare and then pulled her shoulders back slightly when that familiar sensation tingled between her thighs. Ruby swallowed and finally met her gaze, brown eyes reflecting the same smoky desire as blue.

Something had changed between them last night after Ruby's confession. They had stayed at the library all night with only a text to Regina and a brief call to Granny to avoid worrying their family. Their phones were shut down, and tossed on the floor with their clothes. Somewhere between Ruby's breakdown against her chest and now, the tension that had followed them around since Regina and Emma moved to Salem slipped away, replaced with the heady desire and familiarity they shared before Ruby's kidnapping.

They barely spoke after Ruby carried her up the stairs, and neither slept much. They held each other, readjusting to the strong and undeniable emotions the simple act inspired. When one dozed, the other kept watch, pulling her partner back from the nightmares when they sunk their claws into her heart. Despite the short intervals of sleep, they both felt more rested than they had since Ruby's kidnapping and Belle's amnesia. In the course of a few hours, they righted their capsizing relationship, and it felt amazing, energizing in a way sleep could never have been.

When dawn broke, they decided to return to their mansion and make breakfast for Emma and Henry before they departed for Massachusetts. If habit dictated their actions now, the rest of their family wouldn't be roused for at least another hour. They'd fallen into a comfortable silence of cooking and watching as they waited, both lost in their respective thoughts. Somehow, Ruby's led her to rediscover how incredibly sexy Belle was without even trying and left her squirming uncomfortably for the past ten minutes on a stool at the island.

Ruby grinned and rounded the island when the song ended and another with a similar beat started, unable to keep her hands to herself any longer. She recognized the husky voice of Conway Twitty singing again and figured Belle had a playlist on her Ipod of the man; or as Belle called it: her electronic minstrel. The shorter woman squinted up at Ruby, grin growing into a beautiful smile when Ruby pulled her away from the stove and into a dancing posture in the middle of the kitchen.

"Follow me," Ruby ordered and pushed Belle into an easy two-step, less formal than the Waltz but more appropriate to the Old Country tune.

Belle gave her body over to Ruby's silent direction, easily picking up the steps under Ruby's firm and confident lead. By the end of the song, she moved easily to the simple dance, allowing Ruby to add extra turns and twirls. She stumbled a few times in the flat tennis shoes she wore, much more comfortable dancing her heels as she had been trained and conditioned, but trusted Ruby to keep her upright as she giggled and flushed at her clumsiness.

Ruby simply grinned and reverently observed Belle's reactions to the physical activity. She loved it, and Ruby promised to find time at least once a day to dance with her partner. As she became familiar to the dance, her hips and shoulders moved fluidly to the music, lips whispering the words, and Ruby fought the urge to remove her cloak and give herself to the desire her untamed wolf would surely have felt in this moment.

Suddenly Belle's lips pressed a hot kiss to her neck, lips brushing the sensitive flesh as she pulled back enough to mouth the words of the song inaudibly. Had she not wore her cloak, she might have heard them from her lover's lips instead of Conway's.

"Darling, don't say a word. I've already heard what your body's saying to mine. If you want all night, you know it's alright. I've got time."

She pressed another kiss into her neck, and Ruby jerked with the realization that her coy librarian referenced her wolf's time desire and the extended sessions of lovemaking that she needed in order to release the rage in the form of passion instead of aggression. They hadn't explored that yet; Ruby wore her cloak the entire week leading up to the full moon instead.

Ruby's chest heaved in panic, but she brought the small, soft hand she held to the string at her throat anyway. Belle's eyes widened as Ruby relinquished her power and control to her for the second time in less than 12 hours. She pulled at the bow slowly and held Ruby's gaze, watching milk chocolate flicker back and forth with wolf's yellow as the cloak fell to the tile.

Ruby breathed heavily, mouth open as she felt her control slipping. Between her natural arousal at Belle's outfit and sensual dancing, the wolf's rage, and the sudden heightened sense of smell that told her Belle wanted her as much as she wanted Belle, Ruby's mind overloaded with a rush of arousal and panic. Belle watched the struggle for a few moments and then brushed her fingers through Ruby's hair.

"It's okay, Sweetheart. You're in control. This begins and ends when you want it to," she comforted the flailing wolf and smiled shyly when Ruby's erratic breathing began to even out.

"I'm yours, Ruby. My body is yours," she whispered and fought the urge to kiss Ruby's neck again.

Instead, she pulled Ruby's clenching fingers from her hips and moved them up her stomach. Her head fell back when they covered her breasts and squeezed the fleshy mounds of their own volition. She had broken through Ruby's panic, and the wolf finally responded. Belle gasped and clutched her lover's back when firm lips and a hot tongue took advantage of her exposed neck.

"I'm yours," Belle repeated. "You're in control." Her voice barely constituted a whisper, but she knew Ruby's sensitive wolf ears heard the words.

Ruby pulled back, eyes shut tightly, and panted as her senses overloaded again. Belle waited, blinking rapidly and panting silently through her mouth. Ruby's hands still held her breasts, pressing the material of her bra into her hardened nipples. Belle yelped when Ruby suddenly lifted her by the thighs and set her on the island. Her firm body disappeared a moment later, and Belle forced her eyes open. Ruby stood just out of her reach and fumbled to tie her cloak in place with violently trembling fingers.

"Come here," she ordered gently and reached for her lover. Ruby complied and surrendered the cloak to Belle's steadier hands.

She splayed her fingers over Ruby's chest when she finished and wrapped her calves around long, slim legs. Thin hands glided over Belle's jean-clad thighs and wrapped around her ass, pulling their hips flush in the front. Belle's hands brazenly dared to cover Ruby's modest breasts, and a low rumble vibrated in Ruby's throat a moment before she smashed their lips together.

Hands slid up Belle's sensitive ribs, dragging her thin cotton shirt with them, and Ruby's mouth moved to her neck as the shirt cleared her head. One hand held Belle's back, fore finger slipping beneath the metal clasp of her bra, and the other trailed fingertips between swelled breasts and over tensed stomach muscles. Belle contented herself with swiping her thumbs over Ruby's nipples atop her shirt and bra at erratic intervals, allowing her lover complete control of the pace for the moment.

When tight pressure built uncomfortably between Belle's thighs, though, she leaned back on her arms for leverage as she simultaneously rolled her hips into Ruby's and held the wolf in place with her calves. Ruby froze at the sudden wanton action from her lover, and Belle panted from arousal and fear that she'd fucked up and pushed Ruby too far too fast. Ruby dropped her head to Belle's shoulder and panted with her.

"Say it again," she whispered into Belle's sweat-slick neck.

"I'm yours. My body is yours. You're in control, Ruby Lucas, and I want you to make love to me, right here," Belle begged, telling Ruby with her tone that her last statement wasn't a demand, but a passionate plea.

"Again," Ruby demanded and pressed her lips to Belle's flushed chest.

Belle's head fell back between her shoulders and her hips pushed into Ruby's again, relieving some of the pressure. Shaking fingers released the clasp of her bra, and a harsh sigh filled the kitchen when a warm palm slid beneath the fabric and cupped her aching mound.

"Belle, say it again," Ruby whispered into her ear as she pulled her upright and removed the material properly. Belle wrapped her arms around Ruby's neck.

"I give you control, Ruby Lucas," she rasped, lips brushing the shell of Ruby's ear. The wolf pushed her back, and she caught her weight on elbows. Her back arched and chest deflated with a breathy sigh when warm lips wrapped around her painfully taut nipple.

"Make me yours again," Belle pleaded. The bottom of her belly jerked painfully with the new stimulation.

Ruby gave herself over to the plea, trembling fingers fighting with the button and zipper of her partner's jeans. Belle lifted her hips when she pulled on the fabric and shivered as the cool morning air slid over her scorching center. Shoes and socks came off in one swift motion, and then she lay before the woman she loved completely exposed.

Her head jerked up when Ruby lifted her knees over her shoulders and lowered her head to her neatly trimmed mound. The wolf froze when she sensed Belle's confusion and kicked herself for not remembering her lover's inexperience. She'd never gone down on her (or any woman for that matter), and she felt certain this was far too intimate for Lacey and Gold's exploits. The former princess had probably never even heard of such a thing, and Ruby shivered at the thought of being the first to share this knowledge with the beautiful bookworm.

"What are you doing?" Belle asked, her voice hushed and confused but not frightened or disgusted.

"Trust me," Ruby offered as her only response and wrapped her arms around Belle's thighs.

Brown and blue locked gazes as Ruby spread her lower lips with confident fingers. She hadn't a clue which technique to use, but she knew how wonderful it felt just having a soft, hot tongue against her clit. Belle's chest heaved as Ruby broke eye contact and lowered her mouth to her center. Hips bucked upwards at first contact that sent tendrils of pleasure down Belle's legs.

"Oh my god," Belle deadpanned, eyes wide open.

Ruby smiled, wet her tongue and reapplied it to the engorged nub. Belle's head fell back. Soft gasps exploded from her throat with each short breath when Ruby found her groove and slid the flat of her tongue over her lover's bundle of nerves. Hips jerked when it slid down through slick folds, and Ruby repeated the motion several times, reveling in the wanton reaction.

Confidence growing, she took a deep breath and entered Belle's hot clenching center. Belle moan throatily and then shot upright when she wiggled the tip inside of her. She nearly stopped but realized that her lover reacted involuntarily out of pleasure, not discomfort. Belle felt her hesitation and leaned back on one elbow, her other hand tangling in Ruby's silky hair.

"I'm yours, Ruby. Make me yours. Make me yours, Ruby," she whispered over and over, like a prayer.

Ruby stroked her velvet core with slow, tentative strokes. The salty liquid on her tongue wasn't unpleasant, definitely a taste she wanted to grow accustomed to when Belle clearly derived so much pleasure from such a simple form of sexual stimulation. Her mouth covered the clit again and spread the tangy liquid over the hardened nub. Belle bucked again, and Ruby logged the knowledge away for the next time.

She released a thigh, mouth never faltering, and inserted two fingers slowly. They met with firm resistance, informing her of how close Belle came to toppling over the edge. They curled upwards, finding that patch of rough skin inside her lover and rubbing against it absently as Ruby focused most of her attention on the movement of her tongue.

Belle collapsed onto the cold marble counter and held her loose leg beneath the knee, spreading herself further for her lover. Ruby glanced up her body, but her breasts obscured her face now. Hot walls clenched tightly, and firm fingers tugged her hair. Acting on instinct, she pulled her fingers half way out and then back into that rough patch firmly, keeping a slow steady pace.

She only repeated the motion three times before Belle's back arched, stilled and then collapsed against the marble as the tight muscles around Ruby's fingers sucked them in and held her in place. She gave Belle a moment to ride out the small spasm and then twisted her fingers.

Belle cried out and tugged at her hair gently.

"Make me yours," she gasped, and Ruby faltered at the reverent plea in her voice. Even after everything Belle had gone through, personally, and the hell she'd made her endure the past eight months, she still desired her as much as she ever had. Found her touch still as pleasurable. Gave her trust just as freely.

"Ruby, I'm yours. You're in control," she assured her lover when Ruby's hesitation became evident.

Belle's walls continued to roll against her fingers, and Ruby snapped out of her reverie. A sharp inhalation met her ears when she moved her fingers again, building a slow and steady rhythm. Her tongue matched the pace of her fingers. Belle's hips and breathing became more erratic with every thrust. Ruby pulled her mouth away and ducked beneath the thigh she still held, switching it her other shoulder.

Belle's hand cupped the back of her neck as Ruby leaned on her elbow and captured her lips. The librarian broke the kiss with a gasp when Ruby added a third finger and slowly increased the speed of her firm strokes. She gripped Ruby's neck and held her gaze, face contorting further with each thrust. She was about to come undone in a big way, and Ruby wanted to see her face, confirm with her own eyes that this act was in fact good and not evil.

She slammed into her, moving her bodily on the marble, and Belle's eyelids crashed down. Her thumb found Belle's clit with the next movement into her tightened velvet, and her lover's blue eyes opened again. Fingers moved in and out of the wet heat at an almost painfully frenzied rate, and then stilled when Belle's shoulders lifted off the counter. Teeth found the skin of her shoulder as the princess came undone.

It lasted only a moment before Belle collapsed and covered her face with both hands. Her chest moved up and down as though she'd just been running for an extended period and then vibrated gently when she lost the battle with her tears. Ruby pulled her fingers free, eliciting a strangled sob from her emotional lover when another wave of pleasure rippled beneath her skin.

She wiped them on her jeans and then lowered Belle's leg. She wanted to give more or at least draw it out, but with tears already falling freely, she knew the added pleasure would have overwhelmed the other woman. She rubbed her forearm and then removed one hand away from Belle's beautiful face. The gentle motion jarred Belle from her pleasure-induced solitude, and she flung both arms around Ruby's neck and pulled the wolf against her, sobbing freely into her neck.

Ruby pulled her cloak over her lover's sweat-damp body and tucked it beneath her shoulder. Feathery fingers traced flushed skin, leaving no piece of chest or stomach untouched as Belle recovered. Her tears fell for more reasons than sexual release. They fell for them, for Ruby's abuse and subsequent distance, for the child that could have been theirs if Gold wasn't such an evil bastard, for the love that seemed to overcome every obstacle thrown at it. She cried for them, for their pain and their joy and their renewed faith in one another. And when she finally released Ruby far enough to meet her eyes, she felt cleansed.

"Tell me what you want," Belle whispered and brushed her hand lightly over Ruby's small breast.

"I…" Ruby faltered, not having expected reciprocation after Belle's minor meltdown. "I don't know," she said honestly and then pulled Belle upright. Her stomach clenched and burned with arousal and wetness pooled between her legs, but she wasn't sure if she tolerated being touched without falling into an outright panic attack.

"Let me try?" Belle said hesitantly, and Ruby nodded. Belle stopped if she wanted her to, she knew that. She believed that with her brain, but her heart thumped wickedly against her chest in fear.

"Whatever you want, Ruby. You're still in control of this, Sweetheart," Belle assured her and then pressed soft kisses to the corners of her mouth. Ruby shivered and nodded her agreement to try.

"Show me what you want," Belle said when Ruby made no further move. She held up her hands between them and looked at Ruby expectantly.

The wolf released a weighted sigh and touched Belle's hands with trembling fingers. She pressed one against her breast and squeezed it, letting her patient lover know it was okay to massage the sensitive flesh. Belle swallowed thickly and waited, simply holding her hand against Ruby until she decided how to proceed. After a heavy moment, she dropped her eyes and unbuttoned her jeans, leaving them hanging loosely at her hips.

Her eyes returned to Belle's. One hand braced her weight on counter and the other guided Belle's to her hairless mound inside her panties and jeans. Belle gasped at the wetness there but waited for Ruby's acquiescence before moving. Brown eyes shut slowly at the contact, and Ruby gave a jerky nod.

Belle's fingers moved through the wetness and then slid on either side of Ruby's clit, squeezing gently. Fingertips dipped inside on each downward movement, but Ruby hadn't given her permission to penetrate her yet so she refrained. Her other hand pinched and rolled a hardened nipple atop her clothes. Ruby panted into the sensations and braced her other hand against the counter. Her eyes opened and met Belle's in hazy determination. She wanted this, longed for her touch, but losing control terrified her.

Her movements were slow and gentle, her eyes telling Ruby that she honed into her responses, watching for any sign of refusal. Ruby was in control. A sharp breath that almost sounded like a sob tore from the wolf's throat, and she nodded fervently as her eyes slipped shut. Her head dropped to Belle's shoulder, and the librarian forced her ministrations to remain gentle and slow. Ruby's stomach clenched and hips rolled against Belle's hand as she slowly gave herself over to the pleasure.

"I've got you, Sweetheart. You're okay," Belle whispered into her ear, and Ruby sobbed again.

Her hips rolled freely now, and Belle's fingers ached with the urge to enter her. Lips sucked at her pulse point and kissed her jaw. Panic rose with the level of pressure in Ruby's belly, and she shook under the strain of maintaining control of her body. Belle clamped her eyes shut against the tears that threatened to fall at her lover's tormented conflict between control and pleasure.

"Ruby, when you're ready, I've got you. I won't let go. I've got you, Darling. When you're ready, Sweetheart," Belle reassured, her accent thick in the hushed tone. Ruby nodded, unable to hold back anymore.

"Make me yours, Belle," she choked around her tears. An emotional breath pulled from Belle's chest, a mixture of a sob and a giggle of joy.

The hand on Ruby's chest moved to her hips and pushed her jeans lower and then wrapped around her back for support. Two fingers dipped inside Ruby. The wolf clenched and shuddered around her fingers, and Belle knew she was close. The pants created an awkward angle, but she managed to maneuver her thumb to Ruby's clit as she pumped her fingers into her tortured lover.

She muffled a high-pitched gasp in Belle's neck and clawed at her shoulder with a shaking hand. Her walls clenched around her fingers, and Ruby collapsed against her with a shudder. Her fingers slid out with the motion, and Belle wrapped her arms and legs around her quivering wolf, barely keeping her upright. Violent sobs slammed into Belle's chest as Ruby wailed into her neck. She held her tightly and fought her own welling tears.

These were different from her gentle sobs from only minutes ago. These tears were anguished cries of a tortured soul accepting the damage that had been inflicted upon it.

Belle jerked when quiet footsteps ran towards the kitchen. She held Ruby tighter and prayed they belonged to Emma or Regina and not Henry. She'd completely forgotten about their houseguests.

Regina stopped abruptly at the door, and Belle caught her eyes over her shoulder. She pointed to the now charcoaled potatoes on the stove, grateful they were covered with a lid. Belle covered Ruby's head with her hand, keeping the wolf's face pointed away from their unexpected visitor. Ruby continued sobbing, completely unaware of her surroundings, and Belle spared a moment to feel self-conscious of her nudity. There wasn't a way to cover herself, not that it mattered much when Ruby's body and cloak spread over her entire front.

Regina kept her back towards the two crying women, turned the stove off, and silently filled the two waiting coffee cups in front of the pot and left without comment. Her presence wasn't needed. Ruby and Belle finally reconnected, and her intrusion risked that when there was a chance Ruby returned to what was comfortable, which was her comfort instead of her partner's. Emma would drink her damn coffee black and be satisfied, Regina decided.

She shook her head at a bleary-eyed Emma when she stumbled towards the kitchen and shoved the black coffee into her hand. Regina's grave expression stopped her in her tracks.

"What's happening in there is not for us to see," she said and continued to the living room. A broken sob echoed from the kitchen as if to emphasize Regina's comment, and Emma followed her fiancée to a plushy leather sofa.

"What happened?" Emma asked as she sat down and scooted until her shoulder pressed against Regina's.

"Belle just saved her soul."


	9. White Knight

Enjoy Lovelies! And thank you from the bottom of my twisted heart for the reviews and follows… as if that wasn't a spoiler. Tsk.

Songs: I Need a Hero by Jennifer Saunders, Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows

* * *

The next three days passed at a torturously slow pace for Emma. It was only Tuesday afternoon and already she'd mowed, weed-eated, tore up and replaced the few planks on the back deck that had been water damaged, had a beer with Jane, ordered Henry's paternity test, had two meetings with her sponsor (mostly because she was bored as hell, not because she felt like using again), stained the red-plank fence indicating their property lines, read two of the books in The Sword of Truth series, weeded Regina's flower bed, and cleaned the gutters.

Finally, Felicia took pity on the obviously stir-crazy Emma and invited her over to help her out with a few things and have a cup of coffee. Emma tossed the book onto the porch swing and leaped over the banister and then the fence in two swift motions, happy to have something else to do. Felicia's assessment of the first week after the semester being crazy had been correct, either that or she really, really missed Regina. Both probably.

"What can I do for you?" Emma asked, her green eyes pleading with her neighbor's. "Seriously, lay it on me. I'm going nuts and I owe you for helping with Henry this week."

"I need help moving my mulch from the shed out back. I can't lift the big bags," she answered with an amused smirk, leading Emma around the back of her house.

Emma hefted the giant bag, not bothering to check its weight. It strained on her shoulder, and she readjusted it. No wonder Felicia wasn't able to lift it. It probably weighed more than she did.

"Thank you for this. I've been asking Danny for days now, and he keeps telling me that he will." Felicia babbled and walked unnecessarily back and forth from the shed to the front flower garden as Emma hefted the bags.

"Not a problem. I'm going nuts without Regina and school, so anytime you need some heavy lifting done, just give me a shout," Emma offered with a smile and patted the last bag after setting it down.

"Thanks, Emma. Hey, you know about the pool party at Brad's tonight, right?" Felicia said suddenly, hoping Emma already knew.

"Motherfucker," she swore as her head fell backwards between her shoulders. "That's why Henry was harping about swimming trunks last night." She missed Regina. The more experienced mother never missed a word when Henry babbled incessantly, but she zoned out easily.

"He can borrow a pair of Nate's. I'll even take him if you'd prefer to stay home," Felicia offered, knowing she'd be going anyway. Emma followed her into her house and sat at the small breakfast table in the corner of the kitchen.

"Remind me who Brad is again," she implored and rubbed her eyes. "I've never met a Brad I liked," she mumbled, more to herself than Felicia and the redhead laughed as she sat a steaming cup of coffee in front of her.

"He's the only person on our street who doesn't have kids. And yes, he's a bit of a prig, and I wouldn't wear anything too revealing if I were you. Not that you don't have a beautiful body, honey, but he's a perv. I only go because he has the biggest pool, and the kids love it." Felicia explained as she brought sugar and cream to the table, and Emma blushed at the compliment.

"Uhh, thanks, and I will totally be going. Henry was way too excited for me not to. As for wearing anything revealing, well…" she waved her hand at her stomach. "Probably, not a problem. Do I need to bring anything? Regina usually makes stuff for this crap," Emma grouched. Felicia's heart clenched for the clearly floundering woman. She was completely lost in this world without her partner's guidance.

"No, you don't need to make anything. He has his events catered. It's a status thing, flashing his pretty feathers and all that. Emma," the redhead said hesitantly, stopped, took a deep breath.

"Forgive me if I'm out of line, but your scars are nothing to be ashamed of. You did something amazing for someone you love. Do you know how incredibly rare your type of selflessness is in this world? You should wear them proudly, and stop letting them wear you." Felicia sipped her coffee and watched Emma's bright green eyes fall to her own mug.

"She saved my life, too. What I did wasn't brave. It was stupid and self-destructive, and I'd do it again if presented with the same situation." She brushed away the praise, uncomfortable that Felicia had observed enough of her to read her like an open book.

"Emma, stop that. It's exactly what I'm talking about. I'm interested to hear exactly how Regina saved your life, but I'm guessing it was much more subtle than taking a bullet in the gut. Take the damn compliment and count your blessings. What you and Regina have, it's rare. I don't know that I've ever seen two people so in love with each other, myself and Danny included. Not even in the beginning when our hormones were out of control."

Emma stared at her milky coffee and picked at the design on the mug with a thumb nail. Felicia sipped hers, giving the other woman a moment to digest her words before pushing forward.

"So tell me, how did she save your life?" She asked gently, not wanting to scare the turtle back into her shell.

"She gave me a reason to live," Emma answered honestly, the depth of her statement shining in her green eyes as she met her neighbor's gaze. She snorted and smiled stupidly as her eyes fell to her coffee again.

"We didn't even like each other, but we were already falling in love without realizing it. I had, well have, a lot of issues concerning Henry and that led to some pretty self-destructive decisions the first month I was in Maine. She's told you about the mine collapse?" Emma asked and sipped her coffee. Felicia nodded, choosing to remain silent.

"I guess she felt like she owed me because I helped save Henry and Archie, so she sort of… scraped me off the floor and slapped me back together. I think I fell in love with her the first night she read Jane Austen to me on the phone because I couldn't sleep, though it was almost a year and a gunshot wound later that that I finally admitted it," Emma smiled again, cheeks flushing with more recent memories.

"She's been reading to me for the past two nights," she murmured like a lovesick schoolgirl and then cleared her throat, shoulders jerking back when she noticed Felicia's stare. "What about you and Danny? How did you fall in love?" She pulled a long draft of her coffee and looked at the redhead over the mug. Felicia laughed.

"Nothing quite as romantic, I'm afraid. We met in college. Frat boy, sorority girl. He wore a leopard print toga to their annual toga party, and I thought to myself that a man that secure with his sexuality was probably worth dancing with," Felicia smiled fondly at the memory, not having thought about it in years.

"Please tell me you have pictures of that. I totally would like to see Mr. Danny, bad ass attorney at law in leopard print anything," Emma surged, genuinely excited to see the embarrassing evidence of her neighbors' wild party days.

Emma's phone buzzing loudly in her pocket distracted both women from the thought. The former sheriff's face softened when she glanced at the screen, and Felicia knew Regina called her partner. Emma glanced at her with pleading eyes, and she waved her hand in dismissal.

"Go on, I'll show you some other time," she promise.

"Hey Babe, hold on a sec," Emma answered and kept the phone at her ear. "What time is the party tonight?"

"Six. You and Henry are welcome to walk over with us if you'd like. We'll be leaving about ten till," she offered, and Emma smiled gratefully and nodded.

"Great. See you then. Thanks for the coffee. Come get me if you need anything else packed around," Emma said, squeezed her shoulder and showed herself to the door.

"Back," Emma said into the phone, and Regina huffed dramatically.

"I've been gone three days and already you're cozying up to the neighborhood ladies," she poked fun at Emma with an exaggerated flourish.

"Aww, c'mon, you know you have the best tits on the entire street. They just like looking at my tight ass and exquisitely developed biceps while I carry heavy objects for them." Emma volleyed lightheartedly.

Felicia smiled at the entire change in Emma's demeanor as she and Regina played with words. Disappointment swelled in her belly when the front door closed, shutting her out of the rest of the conversation.

Regina chuckled into the phone. "What exactly were you moving?"

"Mulch, for Felicia. Apparently, Danny didn't do it fast enough for her liking, and I looked bored enough to ask. There was coffee and conversation, too. You'd be proud." Emma informed her fiancée as she bounded up the stairs of the back deck.

"That's wonderful, Emma. Felicia has become a dependable and trustworthy friend. I'm glad you're finally connecting with her. She's having a party?" Regina queried, keeping the conversation light.

"Uhh, no, Brad is. That guy who cheats on his wife and caters all of his events," she explained and plopped into the wicker chair with light green cushions she picked out a few months ago.

"I'm well aware. Dreadful excuse for a man. The children seem to enjoy his pool, however. I'm glad you're braving the event in my absence. Are you keeping yourself busy, otherwise?" Regina pushed the conversation forward, but Emma remained quiet. She lifted her white tank top and traced the scars on her belly and chest.

"Darling?" Regina snapped her out of her revelry.

"Do you think I let my scars wear me?" Emma asked suddenly and heard Regina sigh on the other end.

"I'm going to fillet that strident redhead," Regina snipped, and Emma snorted. If only Felicia knew who they really were.

"Darling, I should have warned you about her. She has a masters in counseling and volunteers with a program designed to help battered women. She's quite adept at coaxing you into divulging too much information." Regina explained Felicia's tactics with a slice of irritation in her voice. She sensed that Felicia intended to use her absence to get closer with Emma since the former sheriff so rarely interacted with the other parents of the neighborhood and never without Regina at her side.

"Well, yeah, I figured something like that. I recognized the techniques and careful questions, but still… what she said has merit. Do you think I let my scars wear me instead of wearing my scars?" She asked again.

"I think you're more ashamed of them than you should be. What you did hasn't a trace of shame in it, but you're too humble to be considered a modern-day heroine. It's who you are, Emma. I, for one, am very proud of yours scars, even though I know the price you paid in earning them." Regina set her mind at ease, as Regina usually did, and Emma smiled.

"Every queen needs a knight in shining armor," Emma quipped, but the words came out far more serious than intended, belying the deeper emotions and honesty behind them.

"And of every hero in every realm, I will always choose you, Emma Swan," Regina assured, her smile evident in her tone. Emma jerked the phone away at a loud crash in the background, and Regina sighed.

"I must go, Darling. Miss Lucas clearly cannot be trusted on a ladder. I love you."

"Love you, too, Baby," Emma laughed and ended the call.

Whatever they were up to in Storybrooke sounded dangerous and hilarious. Her heart tugged when she realized she'd rather be there with Regina than here alone. Salem wasn't her home without Regina, and the revelation slapped her in the chest like a ball bat. Regina's arms was where she belonged. Regina was her home.

Had Regina felt that same tug when she left? Was she more in love than Regina, more needing of physical connection? A sliver of doubt pulled through her mind, and she sighed. Relationships were complicated. She nearly settled into a silent rant of self-pity until her phone buzzed with a text message from Regina. She tapped the screen, fully expecting a picture of Ruby in a heap on the floor.

_I wish you were here. I can't wait to come home._ Emma's heart melted. How had Regina always known when she felt insecure? She read her perfectly, always had. Emma brushed her thumb over the simple words that meant so very much and closed her eyes against the burning ache the short distance between them inspired.

_I can't wait to have you home. I miss you. _Emma replied.

Four hours and three outfit changes later, Emma and Henry entered Brad's backyard with Felicia, Danny and their three children. Henry and Nate chattered about some science thing they had done today that apparently peaked their attention. Emma zoned out, not really looking forward to the evening surrounded by picture perfect suburban families. They gave her the willies, probably because she'd grown up in the system.

Emma glanced at all the other mothers in their bikini tops and billowy skirt wraps and then down at herself. She had decided on a bikini bra beneath a white tank top and swimming trunks, instead of the bikini underwear that matched her top. She figured she'd end up playing with the kids like always, so she went for comfort instead of style.

She only stepped beside the pool before Caley, a girl around Henry's age who lived two doors down splashed water up at her. She grinned down at the girl. She was a tomboy for sure, and looked up to Emma, a woman who wasn't decidedly feminine but never ignored the fact that she was female. She liked the insecure little girl.

"Emma! Swim with us!" Caley exclaimed and received support from her cohorts, both dry and wet.

Emma furrowed her brow at the desperate plea and glanced at Felicia, wishing she were receiving guidance from Regina instead. Some of the other parents smiled knowingly, and Felicia nodded her approval. The all knew the quiet partner of Regina Mills never even considered disappointing the little girl despite her obvious insecurity.

Nate and Henry smirked at each other and then rushed at Emma, their intention of tackling her in the pool obvious. She threw up her hands.

"Wait! Wait wait wait. Your mother will cut me if I obliterate another phone," she laughed and dug around in her pockets for anything that water destroyed. The boys hesitated, and a few of the adults raised their eyebrows, never having heard her speak before.

She tossed her phone and house keys to Felicia and then pulled off her tank top and flung it towards the grass. All of her insecurities melted away as she focused on her son's bright eyes, completely oblivious to the stares and whispers at her scars as the rumors of her past and sacrifice were confirmed. They had all heard the story, either from Henry or the rumor mill, about Emma jumping in front of her kid's adoptive mother when a distraught citizen tried to assassinate the mayor. Some of them believed it an exaggerated tale from a troubled little boy who attempted to reconcile with his birth mother by making her into a heroic figure, while others took it with a grain of salt and assumed the events weren't truly as horrific as described.

"Come at me, bros!" She spread her arms wide in challenge, narrowing her eyes when another girl joined Henry and Nate. She squawked in joy when the trio slammed into her, toppling her into the water backwards.

They all emerged laughing. Emma hugged her son with one arm and treaded water with the other. She pulled him to the shallower end, squatted and launched him into the deep end with the momentum from her strong legs. Caley jumped in line next and immediately demanded to be tossed as well. Emma obliged as many kids as many times as possible until her arms and back ached with the effort.

After half an hour, she threw arms up in defeat. "Done! Got no more strength, guys!" A collective whine surrounded her, and her heart melted.

"Okay, okay, one more time… each!" The pool erupted with cheers while murmurs continued to float around dry land about their very own resident hero.

Emma dug her heels in and dutifully launched each child in the pool towards the deep end one more time. By the time she reached Henry again, who decided to go last, she breathed hard and stretched her quivering arms.

"It's okay, Emma. I don't have to go again if you're tired," Henry gave her an out, and her heart fell in love with her son all over again. Regina raised him right.

"Come here, Kid," she pulled him in for a hug and then summoned her last bit of reserve energy and tossed him into the group of children treading water several feet from her.

They amused themselves with each other and allowed the old person a break. She ducked beneath the water and cooled her heated skin, brushing her hair back as she emerged. Felicia sat beside her when she leaned against the edge and caught her breath.

"Quite a display, Ms. Swan. I daresay you have more strength and endurance than most of the men here. You're quite the talk of the neighborhood tonight," Felicia said quietly. Emma glanced around and in fact found shifty eyes stealing glimpses in her direction. Her hands crossed over her stomach instinctively.

"Don't worry. It's not bad," she eased the suddenly tense woman in the pool. "Unless of course, you find sexual attraction and admiration bad," she added with a smirk.

Emma rolled her eyes and eased her hands back into the water. "You're incorrigible."

"Doesn't make me wrong. Trust me, all of the men and half the women are twitching uncomfortably from the dance happening in their pants right now." She winked and departed, immediately falling into conversation with another mother.

Emma shook her head and dropped her eyes when her stomach growled. With a deep breath, she pulled herself out of the pool, wishing now more than ever that Regina was at her side. She always protected Emma from being surrounded by gossiping housewives when it was inconvenient to use a child as a shield.

"Glad to see someone other than kids enjoying my pool," a smooth voice slid into her ear from behind, much too close for her liking. She whirled and stepped back at the same time.

"Hi Brad. It's nice of you to do this for the kids," Emma waved towards the pool and hoped the man took the hint that she wished to avoid conversing with him.

"If the kids are happy, the moms are happy," he said with a wink. Emma's jaw clenched. Seriously, did that come on actually work?

"I'm going to go grab a plate. Thanks again for this. It really is a nice gesture even though you don't have kids of your own," Emma jerked her thumb over her shoulder as she spoke and then turned from the man, hoping to avoid a scene. Of course, her life was never that simple.

Before she even registered what happened, Brad's arm was twisted behind his back and he doubled over in front of her. A hush fell over the giant backyard. Of course, Brad grabbed her ass. He'd grabbed all of the women before. Emma Swan was the first to ever stand up to the powerful and brilliant defense attorney, completely uncaring if her actions led to an assault charge.

"Seriously?" Rage boiled in her veins, and she blocked out every other face except for the one of the man locked in her grasp.

"First, even if I was available, do you honestly believe that I'd be interested in a sick fuck like you. Second, my son is right there, not to mention two dozen other impressionable kids that learn from what they see the adults around them do. Third, look at your wife's face." She jerked him towards the clearly ashamed woman with a hand pressed to her cheek. Her green eyes widened when she finally realized that everyone stared blatantly at her display of aggression, but she was too far in to stop now. Emma Swan never half-assed anything in her life.

"You should be grabbing her ass. She's an attractive lady. Don't see the problem there. So, why is it that you felt the need to have a go at me?" Emma seethed, not really expecting an answer.

"I'm sorry, okay. You're hurting me, you crazy bitch. No wonder you had to jump in front of a bullet to get a woman," he squalled, spit flying. Regina.

"Did you grab her?" No response. She twisted his arm tighter. "Have you ever touched Regina?" Emma knew she should have walked away, asked Regina about it later.

"Don't worry, doll. She's still all dyked out for you," he taunted, and Emma released him.

"You dirty son of a bitch," Emma seethed and faltered exactly one second before hot rage flushed her chest and neck.

She loosed her fist before she thought about her actions and smirked in satisfaction at the subsequent splash as Brad toppled into the pool. She shook her hand out and strode across the grass, snatching her shirt off the ground and jerking it over her head, intentionally keeping her eyes away from the other adults.

"Henry!" She called.

"Yep, we're leaving. Bye guys!" He had already pulled himself out of the pool. He beamed up at her with pride, and it stripped all of her insecurities about her actions away. She'd made her son proud, and that was all that mattered. She dropped to one knee and took his shoulders.

"Henry, if I ever find out you treat a woman like that, I don't care how old you are, I will bend you over my knee. You understand?" She warned gently, not really believing her son capable of such a thing.

"I won't ever, Emma. I promise." He answered seriously and pulled her into a tight hug. She caught Caley's gaze over his shoulder as the little girl stared up at her worshipfully from the side of the pool.

"If someone ever treats you that way," she directed towards the little girl and took her son's hand as he stepped from between them. "You know where I live. You come get me, and I'll take care of you. Don't ever believe for a second that any woman has to tolerate that kind of behavior from a powerful man. You don't have to take a bullet to be a hero. All you have to do is stand up for what you believe in. You understand?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically, empowered by her idol's words of wisdom and strength. Emma smiled affectionately at the girl. She really wanted a daughter. The thought slammed into her gut, and she gripped Henry's hand tighter as she stood.

"Nate, Danielle, Izzy, let's go," Felicia ordered and then turned to Emma with hands on her hips. A smirk graced her lips, and Emma's eyebrows shot upwards in confusion at the look as she reclaimed her phone and keys.

Felicia shrugged, stepped back. "I think you've schooled us all tonight, Emma Swan."

"I should have you arrested for assault," Brad threatened and stalked towards her, dripping water and holding his split lip. Emma rolled her eyes and pulled Henry towards the open gate.

"Brad, buddy, you've got fifty witnesses here who are all going to say the same thing. You grabbed her. You got your ass kicked. Take the lesson like a man. And if not, I'll represent Miss Swan for free after watching her knock your ass in the pool." Danny supported his wife's decision to leave wholeheartedly, but not without a parting shot to his peer. Danny wasn't as rich or as infamous, but he was still a damn good lawyer and more importantly, a good man.

Emma smirked at the flustered man, tried to walk away, gave into her arrogance. She strode to Brad's wife, grabbed her hand and kissed it as she bowed slightly to the woman. She had never even learned her name. The woman stared at her with wide, confused eyes but allowed the small show of respect and affection.

"No woman should have to tolerate that behavior from a rich and powerful man," she repurposed her words, watching them hit her target as the woman's eyes misted over. The people close enough to hear her words reacted visibly to the size of Emma's proverbial balls but kept their tones hushed.

Henry offered her a high-five in celebration as they busted free from the social event. Emma knelt and motioned for him to jump on her back for a piggyback ride. He was heavier than expected after her stint of child tossing, but she hefted his weight anyway.

"Pizza!" He squawked as they left the yard.

"Pizza!" She called into the night.

She was on the phone with the small mom and pop pizza place she adored when a knock sounded at the door. Caley grinned up at her, still dripping from her time in the pool. Her mom stood behind her with firm hands on her shoulders. Emma took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Crap. Crap. Crap.

"Hey Rodney, I'm so sorry, can you hold on a sec?" She lowered the phone to her chest without waiting for a response.

"Hey Caley, and Caley's mom," she said cautiously, confused as hell.

"Emily," the other women supplied. "My daughter has been begging to come have pizza with you and Henry since you left. I told her we'd stop by and ask. Actually, a few of the kids are here." She stepped aside for Emma to see the small crowd of people on her lawn. Emma's mouth fell open in shock but rather than comment on what happened, she simply raised the phone back to her mouth.

"Hey Rod, I'm actually going to need five extra large pizzas and 3 bottles of that orange soda stuff. Oh, and one Pepsi or Coke, whichever you have. Yeah, that's fine. Yes, please one meat lover, two cheese and two pepperoni. You've got my card number. Also, like 25 paper plates. Thanks, Rod."

Emma completed her order with wide eyes and completely freaked out. "Henry!" She yelled so loudly and suddenly that Emily jumped in surprise.

"Emma, my room is right there. Uhhh, hey Caley." Henry also froze when he saw the crowd on the lawn.

"Kid, please take your friends and their parents to the backyard, so they don't drip on the floor. I'm going to go have a panic attack in the bathroom as I change into something dry. I'll be out in a minute." Emma's voice was calm and even, and she turned on her heel and did just that. Emily squinted at the odd woman that her daughter adored and followed Henry.

Emma changed into jeans and boots and a black tank top since her tangled hair still dripped. She leaned against the sink in their bedroom and took several deep breaths, recounting the events of the past 15 minutes. Okay, she punched a guy for grabbing her and possibly Regina and basically told his wife to leave him. What part of that constituted the party moving to her house? At least part of it, anyway.

By the time she stumbled towards the backdoor, Henry already engaged most the kids and a few of the adults in a game of volleyball. Regina despised the net she set up in the backyard, but Henry liked to play, so she allowed it. It wasn't dark, but it was fast approaching, so she turned on all the lights, flooding the court with it.

"Felicia," she called when she stepped on the back porch. Several of the other parents stood there and watched the game. They all glanced her way with a smile or wave when she joined them outside.

"What the hell just happened?" She tried to whisper, but her voice rose in hysterical disbelief.

"Uhhh, you being your hero self, apparently," Felicia smirked. "Almost every person here except maybe the kids have wanted to do exactly what you did tonight."

"I'm not a hero!" She shouted but her voice rose so high that it came out in a strangled whisper. "The only thing I did tonight was show my son that it's okay to resolve conflict with violence." She floundered. Why had she let them stay? Oh right, the kids. Kids were good. Parents freaked her out.

"Miss Swan, what have you done?" Emma sagged in relief. She'd never been so happy to hear Regina's irritated voice in her life. She raced to the rail, gut hitting it painfully. Sure enough Regina stood at the edge of the deck and stared up at her with crossed arms.

"Uhh, I hit a guy and accidentally had a party. Why aren't you in Maine?" Emma's heart pounded when she thought of all the possible reasons Regina stood in their backyard right now, most of them being bad news that she hadn't felt comfortable delivering over the phone.

"When I discovered you were attending a pool party, I feared it might end with you hitting a guy and accidentally having a party," Regina clipped. "Clearly, I was correct." Emma wanted to be irritated, but her heart swelled with affection.

"You drove all the way from Maine so that I wouldn't have to go to a stupid pool party alone?" Regina cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest, no longer comfortable with the other adults watching the interaction.

"Just for the night," Regina answered shyly, voice rumbling deeply.

"Now whose the white knight?" Emma breathed and nearly fell down the steps in her haste to reach her lover. She grabbed both sides of her face and smashed their lips together.

"I missed you," Emma breathed as she pulled back. "And I'm a terrible host. Please go entertain the makers of the tiny humans."

"You've been gorging yourself on the television show about the surgeons in my absence, haven't you?" Emma shrugged sheepishly and grinned. "Who did you hit?"

"Brad. He grabbed my ass and then called you a dyke and implied that he had also violated you similarly. Did he?" Emma asked, not sure if she wanted to know the truth.

"Darling, he's never touched me. I'd have told you," Regina soothed her nerves with warm fingers against her wet scalp. "I may eviscerate him with my letter opener, however."

Emma licked her lips and swallowed, not sure if she wanted to laugh or restrain Regina because of the statement. She had killed before after all. "How's Ruby?" She settled for changing the subject.

"The silly mutt fractured her wrist when she fell off the ladder. Belle is playing nurse. Ruby is lapping it for all it's worth, and I do mean that in the dirtiest way possible." Regina smirked and raised her eyebrows as she adjusted her head and shoulders.

"That's… great, and more than I needed to know," Emma said and shook her head to clear it of the mental image. She was happy that Ruby and Belle had reconnected because of her tirade. It wasn't exactly how she'd imagined it, but she was glad nonetheless.

Regina settled her hands on Emma's slim hips and pulled their bodies flush. Long fingers dove into dark hair and tipped Regina's face upwards. Emma leaned over her captured her lips. Regina hadn't admitted it aloud yet, but Emma suspected she loved it when Emma towered over her when they kissed. Regina's tongue played at her bottom lip, asking for entry. Emma pressed their lips together more firmly as she opened her mouth and accepted Regina's warm tongue against hers.

A shot of hot adrenaline tore through Emma's veins, and she pulled away with a gravelly hum of frustration. "Aaaaaand, I'm gonna go play volleyball now," she rumbled, her voice dropping with arousal as it always did.

She spun away and wiped at the plum-colored lipstick on her mouth. Regina smirked and ascended the stairs, wiping at her own lips with her thumb smugly. She knew when she had it good, and by the jealous or hazy looks she received from the other mothers, she had it damn good.

"I was beginning to wonder if I had to hose you two down," Felicia joked and scooted to one side of the wicker chair meant for two.

Regina wedged her back into the corner, angling towards Felicia, and crossed her legs. Her black skirt slid up her thigh and her crisp white shirt crinkled as situated herself. Her spine was straight, an elbow propped on the arm of the chair and the other along the back. She almost felt like The Evil Queen with this much confidence and sexuality oozing from her easily.

"Delayed gratification burns much hotter," Regina answered in a dangerously deep voice that elicited a collective response from the small group of acquaintances/friends.

What the hell did Emma Swan have that made prim and proper Regina Mills practically animalistic in her obvious desire for the woman?


	10. Promises

Warning: If you don't tear up at least once during this chapter, you probably have no soul. Enjoy! If you can.

Songs: I Bruise Easily by Natasha Bedingfield, Unconditionally by Katy Perry, Supergirl by Majestee of Sweden

* * *

"Okay, so you should get into Storybrooke between 11 and noon, so just give me a call," Emma babbled as she set Regina's bag in her yellow bug, drawing out their goodbye. She'd nearly had a conniption when she realized that her fiancée had driven her screaming metal death trap all the way to Salem just to be with her last night. She offered her the Camry, but Regina refused under the reason that Henry would be safer in the newer vehicle.

"Bye Mom!" Henry piped as he bounded down the front steps and flung himself into her arms. She kissed his head.

"Love you," she whispered.

"Love you, too, Mom," he returned and slithered out of her arms. He and Emma stared at each other with their arms held out to the side, almost like a wild west stand off. She narrowed her eyes. The moment lingered, and Regina glanced between son and lover in confusion.

"Go!" They yelled together and then sprinted towards the bus stop.

Nate, Caley and a couple other kids across the street also took off like a shot. They'd been waiting for them to move into position. Her fiancee had been putting their son on the bus for three days and had already begun a daily racing ritual for half the kids picked up at their stop. Emma laughed, hair flying wildly behind her and pretended to lose, though Regina knew she sprinted much faster than she let on. Caley won the race. Emma double high-fived her and then hugged her tightly.

Regina jerked in surprise as she observed the interaction. She realized then why Emma easily gained the respect and admiration of every child she came into contact with. She was on their level, emotionally. She never lost sight of the fact that she was an adult with responsibilities, but in a way, every time Emma chose to gallivant around backyards and toss children into pools and race to the bus stop, she lived the childhood she'd never had but always wanted. Emma probably hadn't even realized yet why she behaved the way she did, and Regina's smile grew as she watched the swarm of children chatter at their new hero.

Caley said something up at Emma, and the blonde's vibrant face fell into a serious expression a moment before she raised her shirt, presenting her belly to the little girl. Caley said something else, and Emma nodded. She pressed one tiny finger to the scars on Emma's skin. Regina glanced down the street to find Emily, Caley's mother, watching the interaction with reverent eyes. She obviously approved of the friendship Emma struck with her daughter. If Felicia's version of the rumor mill was to be believed, Caley had begun acting out due to bullying, even by the other kids at the bus stop and on the bus. She was different, but so was Emma. When they moved in and Emma worked her magic on the rest of the kids, the bullying stopped when they saw that Emma took a special interest in the girl.

Actually, almost all of the emotional torture their children inflicted upon each other stopped under Emma's gentle influence and open-arms policy. She was quick with a hug or a sharp tongue, depending on what the situation required, and there wasn't a child on the whole block who didn't adore her. She used that admiration to her advantage, implanted life lessons in unorthodox ways, like last night. They were grateful to her for that; though, the other mothers never commented to Emma directly because of her odd aversion to the other adults.

Regina turned her gaze back to her lover to find her jogging back up their driveway to her. Emma smiled brightly.

"I want to be a teacher. I'm going to call my advisor at BC today" she said without provocation, clearly having just made the decision, and Regina smiled, sensing Emma needed no further acknowledgement of the statement. It was a self-revelation, not a discussion topic.

Regina grabbed her hand and pulled her arm around her waist, pressing her back into Emma's chest and watched Henry chatter excitedly with Nathan and Caley. Emma slipped her hands over her hips suggestively, fingers dipping into the crease of her thighs. Regina gasped and then waved at their son when he stopped for one last goodbye before boarding the bus.

Emma moved her hair to the side as the bus sputtered and shook and pressed an open-mouth kiss to the muscle between her neck and shoulder. "Come back inside," she whispered, intentionally dropping her voice to a deeper octave. Regina shivered against her, and she grinned and returned her lips to her neck. Her body pressed back into Emma's momentarily and then turned in her embrace to face her.

"I need to go. We're making some real progress on Mendell's agenda," she said without conviction. Emma grinned, knowing she stood a good chance of this morning going her way.

"Just a couple hours," Emma negotiated and backed Regina into her bug, trapping her between the car and her body. She forced her knee in between Regina's and played with the hem of her skirt with one hand. Lips traced her neck, silently pleading for her to give into their desire one more time before they parted for another three days.

Regina traced the claw tracks on Emma chest she'd left around four that morning. By the time the party wound down, they were both exhausted mentally and physically. They nodded off within a few minutes of laying down, but something in the middle of the night compelled Emma awake. They'd not gone back to sleep yet, only realizing how much time had passed when Regina's morning alarm to wake Henry went off. She hadn't bothered shutting it off this week since Ruby and Belle were both up with the chickens anyway. Why waste her precious time off sleeping?

"I should go," Regina said, losing her battle with the persistent blonde. Emma kissed her neck and pulled her red shirt free from the hem of her skirt.

"Come back inside," she whispered against her ear and then nipped the lobe. Regina sighed into the delicious tendrils of arousal pulling upward into her belly.

"Emma," she said and pushed weakly at her shoulders. Emma responded with another kiss to her neck. "I should go," she protested again. Lips pulled from her neck with a pop, and she shivered, stomach clenching tightly.

"Okay, have a safe trip," Emma said, not entirely convinced Regina meant her words.

Regina reached out when their bodies parted and grabbed the shoulder straps of her tank top and yanked her back into the embrace. Lips crashed, teeth clanked, someone moaned. Emma fisted the silky blouse, wrinkling the button line and tugged on it gently, urging her fiancée into motion. Regina pressed her fists into Emma's shoulders, still gripping her tank top, and gave into Emma's persistence. Awkwardly, Emma backed towards their steps nearly biting it when her heels hit the bottom one, and Regina followed to maintain the kiss.

They remained oblivious to the stares and shared smirks of the other parents who had been outside putting their children on the bus as they stumbled onto the porch. Emma's back hit the wall near the door, and Regina fumbled with the knob. Emma flipped their positions, and Regina's back slammed into the door audibly. They tumbled into the foyer, barely staying upright, and Emma kicked it, shutting out the stares and whispers they hadn't seen or heard.

Despite the heated beginning and trail of clothes leading to the bedroom, Regina slowed the pace, and time slowed as they gave themselves to each other once more. Heated skin slid together as she lowered Emma to the bed. Wide, trusting green eyes stared up at her as toned body easily accepted the weight of its softer counterpart, and long fingers tangled in dark hair as lips met in a slow dance of never-ending desire.

Everything else faded away, their insecurities and reservations. They belonged to each other. Nothing else mattered. Not David's disapproval or Henry's paternity or Regina's fear of scaring her partner with primal sexuality or Emma's lost innocence by Regina's decision to cast the curse. Guilt and anger faded into nothing as Regina's lips moved to Emma's jaw, a soft hand cradling the other side of her face.

Every choice, every tendril of pain they endured led them to this moment. Their connection transcended curses and magic and grief. When Regina slipped inside of her, Emma's quiet sigh released the lingering fear of being abandoned and alone she thought her lonely life had permanently instilled in her soul. Pressure built beneath her skin, and her chest swell with an overwhelming need to bring Regina over the edge with her.

An unwavering belief in her strength pulled through her big, beautiful heart when she pulled Regina down to lay side by side. Regina gasped at the unexpected entry of Emma's gentle fingers. She was good not evil and she knew it in that moment. Emma loved her enough to share this with her. The gesture went far beyond having sex and even making love. This was something deeper.

She'd never shared an orgasm with another person and suspected Emma hadn't either. Senses heightened in the silence as something unnamed slid into place in their souls. Regina gasped, pressed her forehead to Emma's, and gave herself over to the pleasure. Emma felt how close she was and plunged into her painfully, like she always had. She needed pain to finish, even if it was a tiny amount. She shook her head, and Emma faltered.

"No pain," she panted, stilling her own hand in order to keep their pace towards orgasm even. Emma nodded, not trusting her voice.

She'd figured out months ago that Regina used sexual pain to cover the deeper emotions she feared. There were a few times when she'd come undone without it, but those instances were few and far between and never by Regina's conscious choice. The fact that her tortured lover asked her to be gentle raised the stakes of this moment, and she felt her heart reaching for Regina's, cradling it in a protective embrace in preparation of the inevitable and uncontrollable and emotionally volatile reaction she faced in a few short moments. She moved slowly within her.

Lips connected as pressure built again. Foreheads met. Gazes locked. Sighs mingled in hot puffs. Hands stilled when velvet walls clenched tightly, moved again when the small spasm passed. They took each other higher, reaching for that ultimate high, that seemingly unattainable connection. Panic rose with every stroke that brought them closer to that goal.

Hands faltered. Breaths stopped. Over and over again, they brought each other back from the brink of hysteria with honest eyes that reflected the terror her lover felt as the gravity of giving herself so completely to another crashed into her. There was no safety net. No pain to hide behind, no turns to take when emotions grew too intense. Just the give and take of simultaneous surrender. Regina, surprising both of them, acquiesced first.

Brown eyes shut tightly as tears spilled onto flushed cheeks as she gave into the desire filling her veins. Emma followed, no longer as terrified, now confident Regina wasn't going to abandon her to feel this alone. She cupped Regina's neck and smashed their lips together and held on tight as they fell over the edge together.

Hands stilled. High-pitched gasps parted lips. They came back together unconsciously, bringing with them a salty hint of tears. Fire burned in two hearts and slowly encompassed two souls. It was deep and unnerving, moving beneath the surface like the warm flush of alcohol. Regina broke the kiss with a strangled sob, and Emma panted as her eyes flew open.

"Regina," she whispered, choking on a spontaneous sob of her own.

"I feel it," she answered and covered Emma's chest over her heart with her free hand, not willing to pull free from the wet heat of her lover. Tears flowed freely when brown met green in a penetrating gaze.

"It feels like…" Emma's eyes widened as the realization settled into her. Regina moved within her heart. Her passion. Her love. Her rage. Everything that Regina carried within wrapped around Emma's soul like a healing balm.

"Like your still carrying my heart," Regina finished. Emma nodded and searched the deep brown eyes above her.

"How?" Emma breathed, quickly losing her will to continue the conversation as desire for her lover overwhelmed the need to make sense of the unexplainable.

"I don't know," Regina answered and ended the conversation with a weighted kiss.

Emma's essence moved through her chest smoldering the remaining anger and hatred within her soul, cleansing her heart. Nearly half a century ago, she'd felt the protective and vengeful hardening of the organ. Emma's unconditional devotion and love softened it from within Regina's own chest and replaced the rage with forgiveness. The Savior's endless compassion wrapped around the vulnerable heart of her soul mate, insulating the sensitive and easily bruised organ with her unwavering strength.

Emma's tears joined her lover's in their kiss. Wet fingers pulled free and clutched at flesh as their bodies tried to mimic the melding of their souls, frustrating the women when they failed to get close enough. Emma broke the kiss and pressed her face into Regina's neck when her sobs became too violent to continue.

Regina's true heart moved through her own, wrapping it in the feathery fingers of unconditional love. She wasn't alone anymore, not physically and not in her soul. She had wanted to believe in that very fact when Regina agreed to marry her, but believing it and feeling it in her soul were two very different things. She shuddered as she released her insecurities and the emptiness her parental abandonment had caused up to this very moment. She gave her pain over to Regina's tender essence and allowed it to fill her with a compassion that only someone as broken as Regina could possibly possess.

Where Regina's broken and sensitive heart needed protection from the abuse of evil hands and deeds, Emma's heart required a soothing hand to heal her fear of abandonment so that her strength refocused on banishing those abusive and evil deeds from the world. She may have been the savior of their people, but Regina was the savior of her soul. And in that moment, they both understood one could no longer have existed without the other. Their souls were all over each other now, separation of one impossible without killing the other.

"I love you." The words vibrated against the skin of Regina's neck, muffled by tears and hiding lips. She needn't have said anything at all, she realized when she felt the inspiration for Regina's response pull through her a moment before she spoke.

"I love you, too." Regina said and repeated the words over and over in her mind, letting Emma feel the spark of that love in her own heart.

They might have spent the rest of the day in that tight embrace had the rest of the world allowed them. Regina's phone rang five different times, the ring tone telling them it was Ruby, and each time went to voicemail. Emma's rang once from an unknown caller, and on the third call from Belle, Emma stomped through the house to find their pants.

She snatched their phones and immediately returned to Regina's embrace. The older woman had moved and now rested comfortably against pillows propped against the headboard. She felt Emma's irritation and discomfort at their miniscule separation in her chest and stretched her arms towards the irate savior the second she reappeared at the door. Emma immediately slid beneath the blanket and dropped her head to Regina's chest as she pressed her front into Regina's side as tightly as possible.

She sighed in relief at being physically connected again, and at the same time, allowed herself a moment to readjust to the feeling of being unable to get close enough. Regina held her with one arm around her back and her phone with the other hand. Emma also checked her voicemail. Regina jerked as dread pulled into her chest, but it wasn't hers. It was Emma's.

She lowered her phone to the bed and craned her neck to study Emma's face. "Darling?"

Emma hit the replay button on the message and surrendered her phone to Regina, not trusting her voice to convey the information.

"Hello, Emma, this is Maura Isles. I've just received the results of the paternity test you asked me to run. It's a match. I ran the sample twice. I am 100% certain the blood belongs to Henry's father. I apologize for giving you this information in such an impersonal manner, but I wanted to let you know as soon as possible and didn't want to risk being unavailable when you returned my call. Please feel free to contact me if I can do anything else for you."

Regina saved the message in case Emma needed to listen to it again and set Emma's phone beside hers.

"Gold's missing," Regina said, unsure how to approached the new information that he was also Henry's grandfather.

"Belle went to see him early this morning and discovered that some sort of struggle took place in his shop," she continued absently, not really hearing the words coming from her mouth. Her greatest enemy was her child's biological grandfather.

"Why would she go see him? They haven't spoken since she got her memories back," Emma asked, her mind just as unfocused as Regina's.

"I don't know. I'll ask her when I return to Storybrooke this afternoon," Regina promised. Emma's head shot up with wide eyes.

"You're leaving? After… after that?" She sputtered, unsure exactly what to call _that._

"Emma," Regina breathed and tangled her fingers in yellow hair. "Whatever is happening with Mendell and Neal is bigger than us, and everyone we love is trapped by the boundary that I set in place. They could be in danger, especially if they've brought something into Storybrooke powerful enough to incapacitate The Dark One. I have to go," Regina explained as gently as possible. She had to, but that never meant she wanted to.

"Then I'm coming with you. Felicia can look after Henry. He practically lives over there until it's time to go to bed anyway," Emma determined, not nearly as terrified by the thought of leaving her son's side.

"No, Emma. You have to stay here. We don't know how many people Mendell has working with him. They aren't bound by the magic of the curse. If either one of us are a target, they will not hesitate to use Henry as leverage. I'll not put our son through that, which means he stays here with you. You're the only one strong enough to protect him outside of Storybrooke. I'm practically defenseless without my magic."

Emma felt Regina's conviction in her soul and settled. She was right. Their son came first. An uncomfortable reticence accompanied the intention, and Emma almost smiled into its warm meaning. Regina wanted her to come, wanted her at her side.

"You know I want you with me," Regina whispered and pressed her lips to Emma's forehead. "I know you feel it."

"And I know that you feel how scared I am that something is going to happen to you and I won't be there," Emma countered. Regina released a shaky breath and nodded.

"I do." She cupped Emma's cheek and brushed her thumb under her eye. "I think I know what happened. True Love. Every book I've ever read about magic has always stated that True Love is the most powerful magic of any world, capable of breaking any curse and transcending any realm. I thought at the time it was flourish and twaddle, the exaggerated ramblings of love struck witches and wizards.

"After today, I'm not so sure. Can you tell me what you were thinking or feeling at the time? I… I let go of my anger today," Regina admitted hesitantly. "I let it go, and I don't even miss it. I don't need it anymore, not when I know you'll hold my heart together if it's ever broken again."

Regina spoke freely, unafraid of the vulnerability of her words. Emma was her safety, her protection. She needn't fear the impact of revealing her deepest secret or the destruction of her greatest weapon. Emma was her tender heart's weapon against the world.

"I believed that I'd never have to be alone again and… I, uhh. Well, I guess I accepted that I was The Savior and sort of… let go of my anger towards you for casting the curse, which led to my parents' choice to give me up. And my anger at them for doing it because I know…" She sighed in frustration and dropped her eyes to Regina's chest when her mind failed to formulate the right words to explain her situation. Regina waited patiently.

"It's like I've spent so much of my strength and energy protecting myself because I was afraid of being abandoned that I couldn't accept even the possibility that I might be the savior. I don't have to do that anymore because I finally believe in my heart that you'll never leave me." Emma shrugged at what she perceived an inadequate explanation and smiled shyly up at Regina.

"As long as my heart beats and has the ability to love, Emma Swan, I will never leave you."

After much hesitation and twice as many kisses than necessary through the window of her bug, Emma finally granted her blessing for Regina to return to Storybrooke. She held her hand to her chest and watched her reliable death trap until it disappeared around the corner. There earlier love making had set Regina back four hours, but every second had been worth it. Even as she drove away Emma still felt her essence swirling and mingling with her own.

Though Regina's true love explanation had merit, it still made little sense since the world she'd grown up in had no magic. Maybe those ancient magician called it correctly: perhaps true love transcended all other magic, all realms, even those without magic. If this had been their recent path, the inability to keep their hands to themselves certainly made perfect sense. The closer they came to achieving the purest form of commitment, one free of doubt and blame and anger and hesitation, the deeper they felt each other inside their own souls. Even poets of her world spoke of that connection, so the magic books were undoubtedly correct. Damn.

She grabbed the third book in The Sword of Truth series that Belle loaned her. She liked them, but the content was far too mature for Henry. Maybe in a few years. She curled up in the sunlight on the porch swing and tucked into the Fantasy novel, distracting herself from the uncomfortable pinch in her chest that being physically separating from Regina inspired. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she saw was Henry's toothy grin beaming down at her.

"Hi Emma!" He squawked, and she flinched at the loud voice coming from his tiny body.

"Hey Kid," she rasped and sat up. She looked up in surprise when he shoved a mug of coffee in her hands.

"I hope I got the measurements right. I think I made it too strong, so I put extra cream in it," he said, vibrating with pride at his thoughtfulness.

"Thanks, Bud." She sipped the concoction. It was slightly bitter and too milky, and she determined that she'd force every drop down her throat.

"Is it okay?" He asked shyly, clearly wanting his mother to be pleased. She nodded.

"It's great," she responded with a smile and took another swig to emphasize her words. She slung her arm around his shoulder when he sat beside her.

"How long you been home?" She pushed the conversation forward when Henry didn't chitter as her normally did after school and checked her phone, seeing a missed call from Regina and a voicemail from about 30 minutes ago.

"Long enough to make you coffee," he answered and slumped into her side. Something clearly bugged the boy. She shoved the phone back into her pocket, figuring the message consisted of Regina telling her that she'd made it back to Storybrooke safely.

"You okay? Did something happen at school?" She asked and then sucked down half the coffee, taking in as much caffeine as possible in the event she was forced to abandon it to comfort her son.

"Two kids were picking on Caley again. They stayed at Mr. McCarthy's last night after what happened. I think their parents work with him. They were calling her names and telling her that she was like you and Mom because she likes you so much," Henry explained succinctly.

Emma boiled with an instant rage, finished her coffee in two gulps, and set her cup on the floor.

"I stood up for her, like you said a hero should. Stand up for what he believes in. Now, they're picking on me, too, and calling you and Mom mean names. They never said anything before. Being a hero doesn't feel good sometimes, does it?" He turned searching eyes upwards, and she shook her head.

"No, it doesn't. I'm so proud of you, Henry, and I promise it won't last forever. This is because of something that I did, and I'd do it all over again. It will stop when everything calms down. Until then, what can I do to help you feel better?" She squeezed his shoulder in a sideways hug.

"Help me help Caley feel better. She was crying when she went home," he said and completely stole her heart all over again. Where did she get off being so damn lucky to have Regina and Henry in her life?

"Okay, what would make her feel better?" Emma asked, pushing her own anger at the situation away in light of assisting her son.

"She likes soccer. Maybe we can get a game going?" He said brightly, and she nodded.

"Go get the ball. I'm going to go talk to Felicia and get her to help, too," she said, and they parted ways.

Felicia, of course, agreed to call everyone else on the street and tell them about the impromptu game. Emma nodded her thanks and then moved down one more house. She took a deep breath and rang the bell, hoping Caley responded to their efforts.

"Emma?" Was the response she received when the door opened. She smiled anxiously at Caley's mother. She seemed like a kind and sensitive woman who should have raised a prissy prom queen rather than a tomboy. She was clearly upset, and Emma knew Caley divulged the bullying to her mother just like Henry had.

"Hi Emily. Henry told me what happened at school today. And, well… we thought maybe a game of soccer in the street might help her feel better," Emma explained. Her hands fidgeted and finally she shove them into her back pockets.

"If you can coax her out of her room, I have no objections," Emily agreed, and Emma thought she might burst into tears. She was at a loss for how to help her daughter.

"She looks up to you so much, Emma. Maybe you can get through to her," she continued, stopping when her chin quivered with unshed tears.

"I'll try," Emma promised and followed her to Caley's room. Emily nodded and Emma knocked.

"Caley? It's Emma. Can I come in?" No response. She tried the knob and cracked the door.

She found the girl cross-legged on the floor with her back to the door tearing apart one of her athletic trophies. Emma dropped her knees in front of the girl and covered her hands. A tear-streaked face looked up at her.

"Stop that," Emma ordered gently and pulled the trophy from her hands and set it aside. She grabbed her chin and held her head up. Obviously, Emily's emotional coddling had gotten nowhere with the girl, so Emma switched tactics.

"Head high. You're too beautiful to hang your head, and you're too strong to let a couple of bullies tear you down like this. If you want to be mad, get mad, but you never let someone make you feel like you are less than what you are. You hear me?" Emma sniffed as her own emotions got the better of her.

"But they're right. I'm not like the other girls in my class," Caley admitted and sniffed.

"How old are you, Caley?" Emma asked suddenly.

"12." Plenty old enough to begin understanding her own sexuality. Emma took a deep breath.

"I think they might be right, Emma. I don't feel that way about boys. I mean, they're fun to play sports with because they can keep up with me, but I don't think about going on dates with them or kissing them. I think about that stuff with my best friend Kimberly." She confessed and dropped her chin to her chest as her tears fell again.

A movement at the door caught Emma's eye, and she looked up and straight into the shocked eyes of Caley's mother. Would she be okay with a gay daughter? Emily must have sensed Emma's unasked question because she smiled around her tears and nodded. At least now she knew why she wasn't relating to the girl; Caley kept a heavy secret that kept them apart.

"Caley, listen to me," Emma started with renewed vigor. "You are perfect the way you are. You understand? It doesn't matter who you love. Love is love. Boy or girl, it doesn't matter. I'd never dated a woman before Regina. You know that?" The girl's face tipped upwards in shock, and she shook her head. Emma was getting through.

"She's my soul mate, the love of my life, and if I hadn't given into that feeling just because she was a woman, I would have missed out on the love that fills me up so much that I feel like I'm bursting at the seams." Emma smiled as the girl's tears stopped.

"That's why you put yourself in front of her, so that you would get hurt instead of her?" She asked. The kid was fascinated by her scars. Emma nodded.

"I'd do it a thousand times if it meant she never got hurt. Can I tell you a secret?" She whispered loudly, and Caley nodded vigorously, pulling herself onto her knees and inching closer.

"I asked her to marry me. She said yes," Emma confided with a wink. They hadn't told anyone in Salem yet, and Emily gasped happily.

"That's awesome, Emma!" She flung her arms around Emma's neck, and the savior accepted her weight happily. Emily beamed from the doorway.

"Hey," Emma said and pulled back. Caley hung around her neck and looked up at her expectantly. "I hear there's a soccer game going on outside. Wanna go show 'em how it's done?"

"Uhh, duh! Race you!" Caley deadpanned and bounced to her feet, leaving Emma in the dust as she ran past her mother.

Emma braced herself with hands on her knees and released a shaky breath. She changed her mind. Kids were as terrifying as their parents. Emily knelt in front of her, having had several mothering-induced panic attacks herself.

"Breathe, Emma. That was perfect," Emily comforted and set a hesitant hand on her shoulder. Emma followed her command and took several deep breaths, feeling lightheaded from the effort as her heart slowed.

"Being a mother is scary as hell," she said and allowed Emily to pull her to her feet. They walked out the front door to find a bunch of parents on blankets in the lawn, watching the spontaneous game.

"Emma's on our team!" Caley shouted, and Emily smiled at Emma, giving her a push forward.

The next 30 minutes consisted of being bounced around by 10-13 years olds, and she laughed through every blessed second of it. Felicia brought out a speaker and blared music for them to play to. She passed the ball to Caley every chance she had. The girl was really good, and when she shot and made her umpteenth goal, Emma squatted and lifted her on a shoulder. She heaved with the effort, but the girl's bright smile and infectious laughter was worth the back ache she'd have in the morning.

When the perfect song for the moment started, she smiled up at the girl and said something to her that the other parents missed. She lowered her to the ground, and then called Felicia's name. The parents looked between the redhead and the two girls in the street. Emma smiled down at Caley and then held a hand in front of her own waist.

"Crank. It. Up!" They yelled in unison and then started dancing perfectly to the choreography in the video.

"Show me how big your brave is!" Emma yelled out of sync with the lyrics as other kids joined in the dance, some knew the dance and others did their own thing.

"Henry, get over here. You know this dance." Her son flanked her other hip and grinned toothily at her.

"Say what you wanna say and let the words fall out! Honestly, I wanna see you be brave!" Emma sang as she broke away from the choreography and moved however her body wanted to move. She pointed at Caley every time she said, "I wanna see you be brave."

A Katy Perry song came up next, so she continued dancing, knowing the kids followed her lead between dance or soccer. Her phone blared from her pocket, and she motioned for the other kids to keep dancing and moved towards the side walk. Better the adults hear what was probably going to be a dirty conversation since it was Ruby's ring tone.

"Rubik's Cube, Belle turn you back round the right way yet?" Emma answered with a smirk, referencing her tumble from the ladder.

"What?" She snapped sharply, and the adults within earshot turned their heads in her direction.

Emma's face paled instantly. She clawed at her chest with her free hand as she wavered on her feet. Felicia and Emily stood but stayed put. Emma wavered again and caught herself on her hand as she collapse onto her butt. Her knees were spread wide and pulled towards her chest.

"What?" she repeated, an emotional crack in her voice. The phone fell to the sidewalk, and she propped her elbows on her knees and held her head in her hands. Black blurred the edges of her vision and blood roared in her ears. She breathed deeply, trying to avoid passing out. Hands touched her shoulder, but she couldn't have seen who it was if she tried.

Felicia grabbed the phone as Emily held Emma upright. A few other adults surrounded them, mostly blocking Emma from the view of the kids, even though they already saw that something was wrong. Danny caught Henry as he ran towards Emma and walked him away from the group after a small struggle. He promised to bring him back when they found out what was happening.

"Ruby, this is Felicia. Why is Emma having a panic attack on the sidewalk in front of my house?" She listened, her own face blanching. "Oh my god." She caught Emily's gaze with shimmering eyes.

"The sheriff at their hometown in Maine was on a patrol at the town limits and found the car Regina was driving on the side of the road. Her phone was destroyed. There are signs of a struggle. They found blood all over the ground, but they don't know whose it is yet. Regina is missing." She relayed the information to the parents after a quick glance to ensure Henry was out of earshot.

They all jerked back when a hollow scream tore from Emma's throat as she heard the information repeated again. She fell into haunted, hollow sobs that Felicia felt certain would keep her up that night. She wasn't dreaming. Regina was missing and could be anywhere if Mendell or one of his people took her over the boundary line. She was the only one who could cross, and she was too far away to do any good. The tortured sound broke all their hearts now that they knew exactly what Emma and Regina had gone through to get to the place they were now. It wasn't fair.

She clutched at her chest again. Regina still moved beneath her skin. She was alive, and the thought wasn't as comforting as Emma hope it had been. She lifted her head, tears streaming freely.

"Voicemail. Tell Ruby you'll call her back. I have a voicemail from Regina." Emma instructed, and Felicia followed her command. She hand the phone to Emma, but her hands shook too violently to operate the touch screen device. Felicia took it gently with a comforting hand on her forearm. Emma dropped her head into her hands and tried to compose herself.

"Password?"

"That date I got shot," Emma answered. When Felicia floundered, she continued. "April 7th. Zero, four, zero, seven. Put it on speaker." She covered the back of her neck and squeezed as tears spilled onto her cheeks again. "I can't remember her birthday, but I know that date. Stupid. Stupid." Emma berated herself, and Emily rubbed her shoulders, fighting back her own tears.

"Emma, are you sure you don't want me to listen to this first," Felicia asked carefully, not knowing Emma well-enough to know how she might react.

"Put it speaker since I can't hold the damn thing," she demanded coldly, allowing anger to take her fear. Felicia swallowed and nodded. Emma propped her chin on her forearms laid over her knees and stared at the phone with hard eyes.

"Emma!" Regina's scream came over the phone at a distance, and everyone jerked except Emma who allowed the rage of what happened wash over her. A few grunts were heard followed by the sound of someone falling onto pavement.

"It's Neal and Mendell and two others. Black female. Another white male." Regina's terrified voice broke up. "Shackles." Scratching and grunting. "Off me!" Regina fought for her freedom, possibly her life. The phone scratched again, and then Regina's voice was clear as day.

"It's about the trigger. Tell Ruby to find the hidden compartment in my study before they do. They're going to blow up Storybrooke, Emma." Scratching. Grunting. Regina screamed in pain.

"Emma," Regina's weakened voice rasped into the phone. "Tell Henry I love him." Scratching.

"No! Please. Let me tell her that I love her before you kill me!" Regina pleaded. There was a long pause and what sounded like wind blowing into the phone.

"Emma," Regina's voice came back onto the speaker. She was clearly crying. "I'm so sorry that I never got to marry you. You were the perfect partner, the perfect lover. I love that I turned you on more when I gained a little bit of weight after moving to Salem. I know you noticed but never said anything. You just seemed satisfied with more of me to love." She laughed hauntingly and then sniffed.

"It's so silly now. You'll be okay. Henry will be okay if you love him like you do now. He told me that he's angry at you for giving him up, but he's working through it. I told him that we'd listen when he was ready. Take him to see Maura when he's ready to talk. She'll know how to help you work through it. Tell him, when he's ready, that it's okay to call you mom. I'm honored to hand that title to you. I'm sorry I couldn't give you the daughter you wanted. I really like the name Annabel. Keep it if you should ever have a daughter." Her voice cracked with emotion, and a sob burst into the phone.

"You should stay in Salem. The house is paid for, and Felicia will help you take care of Henry. Don't bring him back here to this memory. You'll be okay financially. I never told you before exactly how much money I had, not that you cared anyway. It's enough, Darling, and you are my soul beneficiary. It's enough for you to finish school, and pay for Henry's college education and live comfortably for the rest your lives.

"Get your teaching degree, My Love. You'll be a fantastic teacher," Regina whined into the phone. "You know how to connect with children better than anyone I know. You'll make a difference in their lives." Her voice cracked again, followed by a faint sob.

"Emma," she pushed through her emotion. "Emma, this is not your fault. There's nothing you could have done differently. Love again, Emma. Never stop loving. You're heart is too big to keep it to yourself. Your big, stupid, beautiful, brave heart, Emma Swan was the best thing that ever happened to me. You didn't just save my life that day, Emma, you saved my soul.

"Look after Ruby for me. That stupid mutt is going to take this as hard as you. Tell Granny her apple pie was the best and I'm sorry I never got the chance to learn the recipe when she wanted to teach me. Tell your mother… tell your parents that I forgive them.

"Emma, promise me that you won't fall back into old habits. Go see your sponsor after you listen to this message. Your two year chip is coming up. I won't you to get that chip, Darling. You don't need the drugs. You need Henry and Ruby and Belle and your parents, and they need you. Stay strong for our son.

"And, Emma, I'm glad I went back inside this morning. My soul has never felt so clean. I love you."

Scratching. Voices. Wind. "Now what?" A female voice asked.

"Bash her head in. I want her lover to hear The Evil Queen's death," a male voice ordered. It wasn't Neal's. Mendell.

A loud crunching sound followed and then the line went dead.

"I promise," Emma whispered inaudibly and stared at the phone.

Regina was gone.

Yet, Emma still felt her move inside her soul as though she weren't. She covered her heart as blood roared in her ears, and the world went black.


	11. I Feel You

Hello, My Doves! Thank you for all of your reviews! They brighten my day and were much needed after these two chapters. Alas, I can't traffic in fluff for too long. It makes me squirmy.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Never Let Me Go by Florence and The Machine

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The next morning found a bleary-eyed Emma on the front porch with a cup of coffee in her hand and her sponsor at her side. They'd stopped talking hours ago, but the woman refused to leave her side. Henry had finally settled down and passed out around midnight. She hadn't told him about the message, only that Regina had gone missing and that Ruby, David, and Captain searched for her.

"Hey," Felicia said quietly from the sidewalk. She looked like she hadn't slept either.

Emma stared into her coffee like she hadn't heard the other woman, so Maddie stood and descended the steps. Her sponsor was a fierce, middle-aged woman from a similar background as Emma. She'd gone through the system as a child and had been sober for 15 years now. Like Emma, she took no bullshit and was quick with a hug if the situation called for it. Felicia was shocked to discover that Emma was an addict, but now her "self-destructive decisions" that she'd made after Henry found her made perfect sense.

"How is she?" Felicia asked quietly, eyes bouncing back and forth between Emma and Maddie.

"In shock. She's taking Henry to Maine this morning to be with her family," Maddie answered shortly, letting the petite redhead know with her tone that she'd not divulge anything further about Emma's mental state. What happened between them stayed between them, as it should have been between addict and sponsor. She still called hers sometimes when life threw a shit sandwich at her.

"Good. That's good. Do you think I could…" She waved her hand at the porch, and Maddie nodded. Felicia tried to smile a thank you but grimaced instead. She climbed the stairs.

"Hey Emma," she said gently and sat on the edge of the porch swing. "Maddie says that you're going to Maine. Can I help you pack or make breakfast for Henry?" She said, floundering now that she was actually face to face with the woman she'd begun to consider a friend.

Emma stared into her cup, completely unresponsive. Felicia wondered if she even noticed her presence. She glanced up at Maddie, clearly seeking guidance from the woman who knew Emma much better than she. Maddie's hard eyes shimmered with tears, and she rolled her eyes towards the porch roof and turned her back with hands on her hips as she fought the tears. Felicia swallowed her own.

"Sandwiches," Emma rasped, her voice raw from crying and staying up all night. "She always made us sandwiches for the trip. And cookies," she added. She leaned back, slouching into the swing. Her back ached from the extended period she'd stayed in her bent over position.

"I ate all the cookies yesterday," she admitted, her voice laced with frustration. "The cookies were his favorite part of the trip because she let him have as many as he wanted." Tears filled her eyes, and she covered her face with her free hand, chin dropping to her chest as tears fell again.

"Hey," Felicia said and squeezed Emma's shoulder. She ignored the tears dripping down her own face, knowing she'd not have fought them and comforted Emma at the same time. "I'll make him some cookies. Okay? Chocolate chip, right?" Emma nodded behind her hand.

"What kind of sandwiches did she make?" Felicia asked, wanting to keep Emma talking for as long as possible, help pull her back to reality.

"Turkey and cheese. She put mayonnaise on mine and Henry's. She likes mustard," Emma said and scrubbed her face, muffling her words on each downward swipe.

"Do you want me to make one with mustard for her?" Felicia asked. Emma shook her head.

"That's stupid. She's gone," Emma bit, her voice a hollow whisper. She blinked rapidly when Regina moved in her heart, soothing her pain, and then nodded. "I think she should have one, too."

"Okay," Felicia said and rubbed her shoulder. "Is it okay if I bake in your kitchen?"

"Don't you have to get the kids up for school?" Emma asked suddenly and squinted up at the sky as if she only just realized that it was in the middle stages of dawn.

"Danny is taking care of them this morning," she said and wiped at her tears. She cared for Regina, and her heart hurt, too. Not even close to what Emma probably felt, but she grieved for the sassy, sophisticated woman she'd come to consider a close friend.

"You can bake in her kitchen," Emma said and finally met the redhead's eyes. "The day I moved your mulch and she called… she called you a trusted friend. She cared for you. I think you and Ruby and Belle were the only people she'd ever considered friends in her entire life. I don't know if that makes you feel any better, but…" Emma shrugged and left the statement hanging in the air when tears threatened to fall again.

"It does. I'm honored to have been Regina's friend," Felicia choked around her tears. "I'm sorry, Emma. I can't even imagine how you feel right now."

"I don't really feel anything. I don't think she's dead," she confessed with a quiet conviction.

"Emma," Maddie caught her attention as she turned around. "The amount of blood they found… you heard what she said in her message. She was saying goodbye. She's gone, Honey." Maddie's words were firm but her tone was gentle. They were meant to help Emma ground herself in reality.

"She's not gone until they find her body," Emma ground out, her voice growing with confidence. "You don't know her like I do. You have no idea what Regina Mills is capable of surviving."

"Emma, stop this. You can't talk like this in front of Henry. He needs you to face this reality with him. Think about your son," Maddie countered, not believing a word. She hated herself for shattering Emma's heart, but someone needed to nip the fantasy in the bud before Emma caused deeper scars for herself and her child.

"My son is going to say the same exact thing I just did," Emma seethed, allowing her anger to take her grief.

"And you're going to, what? Indulge his fantasy so that you can live in your own? Emma, I know you're hurting. I can't even imagine the grief that must be in your heart. What you had is damn near non-existent in this world, and I'm so sorry. But she's gone, Emma."

"She is not gone!" Emma sprang to her feet and poked Maddie in the chest. The more everyone tried to convince her that Regina was dead, the stronger her belief in the exact opposite became. She felt her.

"She's not gone," she repeated quietly and lowered her hand as her anger fell into check. "I feel her, Maddie," she explained and pressed her hand to her heart. "I still feel her. She can't be gone if I still feel her." She needed to get to Storybrooke and to people who knew of magic's existence.

"I believe you, Emma," a small voice called from the sidewalk, and three sets of eyes turned towards Caley and Emily.

"True love knows," the girl said and broke away from her mother's grasp. She and Emma met at the bottom of the steps and collided into an emotional hug. Emma dropped to her knees and clung to the girl.

"True love knows," she repeated the girl's words and then pulled back and wiped tears from Caley's face. "Adults forget that sometimes. Don't ever forget," she instructed with a smile that actually reached her eyes.

"I won't. You should go find her," Caley said enthusiastically, proud to be the one to finally make Emma smile.

"That's why I'm going to Maine today. I just had to wait on a friend to get me some information," Emma explained, and the other adults glanced between each other. What the hell was Emma on about?

"Like information on the people who took her?" Caley asked.

"That's right. My friend's a detective, and she's going to help me find Regina," Emma continued. Caley flung her arms around Emma's neck with a squeak of joy.

"I knew you'd try and find her," Caley whispered worshipfully.

"I will always find her," Emma vowed, eyes slipped shut as she squeezed the girl tighter.

"Now, go to school. Remember, head high," Emma reminded her as she pulled back. "You're perfect. Just as you are." She kissed her forehead and then sent her happily bounding back to her mother.

Emily smiled at Emma's resilience and took her daughter's hand. Who was she to question Emma Swan's belief that Regina still lived? They hadn't found a body after all. Why kill someone and take their body after letting her say goodbye to her fiancée? Maybe true love knew things and denied access to those without it. Emma saw the belief in her eyes, too, and it reaffirmed everything she'd just said. True love knew.

The drive to Storybrooke was quiet. Henry pressed against the door and pretended to read most of the trip, dropping off into sleep about 20 miles from Storybrooke. He hadn't slept much the night before. Emma silently mulled her plan over in her mind. She had files on Mendell, Neal and Tamara in the back seat. She intended to pour over them with Belle and Ruby, hoping to find some sort of common locations or occupations or organizations. Hell, she'd be satisfied with the same bowling club. Something tying them together.

Belle and Ruby stood at the line as they approached, and she crawled to a stop beside them. With a glance to Henry, she exited the vehicle and studied her friends in confusion. They looked exhausted. They hadn't slept either last night. She met them for a three-way hug and sighed when some of her loneliness and despair slipped away in the embrace.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked and pulled back. "How's the wrist?" Emma pointed at her brace and then tucked her hands in her back pockets.

"I have an idea of how to cross the line," Ruby said, ignoring her second question. Apparently, she also believed Emma's claim that Regina lived if the fierce determination in her eyes was any indication. "I need you to put my heart back into Belle."

"What the hell are you talking about? You've been screaming about your heart for almost a year. There's no fucking way I'm taking it out of your chest just so you can cross the line and forget everything." Emma immediately shot down the idea, but Ruby and Belle only smiled at each other.

"Trust us," the librarian said confidently.

"If I'm linked by my heart being carried in my true love, I should keep my memories because my lifeline is still within the magical limits of the barrier." Ruby grabbed her hand and pressed it to her chest as she spoke.

"Belle is going to go with you to Salem to look after Henry while you track down the leads your friend gave you. I'm going to stay here and rip Storybrooke apart until I'm positive she isn't here. We just want to make sure we're right about this before we send Belle over. I will still be Ruby if I lose my memories and can't get them back. Now, take my fucking heart," Ruby ordered. Emma recoiled with the immediate assault the second she crossed into Storybrooke.

With a deep breath, she pulled on the small tingle of magic that floated through her. Ruby gasped and clutched Belle's hand when Emma's hand disappeared into her chest.

"You good?" Emma said. Ruby nodded.

"Please don't let me kill Regina's best friend," Emma prayed. "Please don't die. Please don't die." Ruby grunted as her heart pulled free, and Emma nearly fell over with relief. She hadn't killed Ruby.

"Whoa!" Hot tendrils of anger and love and respect flowed into her fingertips, and Emma jerked, not having expecting the rage.

"Why the hell are you so mad at me?" She asked in shock. Ruby's eyes darkened.

"Later, Emma. The witch needs rescued," Ruby dismissed her with a wave of her hand towards Belle's chest.

Emma grimaced, wrapped her arm around Belle's waist and then shoved her hand inside her chest. She wavered and grabbed Emma's shoulders as she adjusted to the jittery feeling of carrying two hearts. She giggled and dropped her head to Emma's shoulder for a long second as she composed herself. When her spine straightened and she stepped back, Ruby approached the faded orange line cautiously.

"You are absolutely sure that she is alive?" Ruby asked and clenched her shaking hands into fists.

"I'm positive. We made love before she left. It was different than usual. I'll spare you the details, but when we… you know, at the same time, something happened. It felt like it did when I carried her heart, but we were out there," Emma confided excitedly to Ruby. They were doing this. Between her efforts on the outside, and Ruby's within Storybrooke, she felt for the first time that they'd bring Regina home.

"I'm sure. I still feel her, Ruby. She's still inside me. If she were gone, I wouldn't feel her anymore. I'm positive." Ruby nodded, apparently satisfied with Emma's conviction.

Belle clutched at Emma's shoulder when she stepped back from the line. Ruby stepped forward, stopped, whirled on her heel. She strode to Belle and cupped her neck and cheeks in both hands and pressed a slow, sensual kiss to her lips. Emma averted her eyes as the affection lingered.

"I love you," she whispered and then crossed the line with confident strides.

A shimmer of blue surrounded her as she went through the barrier. Belle grabbed Emma's hand and squeezed it painfully. They held their breaths and waited. Ruby froze, shoulders sagging in what seemed to be relief, but they only observed her back.

"Ruby?" Emma called, and the other woman turned to face them slowly. Her expression was confused, slightly panicked. Crap. Emma wrapped an arm around Belle. Had they just made the situation worst by taking Ruby out of commission?

"I can't feel my wolf out here," she said and readjusted her shoulders. She felt calm and empty at the same time. It was strange not to feel the intense power of her counterpart's wolf constantly flowing beneath her surface. Belle and Emma sighed, smiles on their faces.

"Holy shit, I can't believe that worked," Ruby said and then laughed. She felt so free. She spread her arms wide and tipped her head towards the sky, letting the warm afternoon sun glance off her face. If Regina felt like this without her magic, Ruby promised to stop harping about her coming back to Storybrooke more.

"Ow. Ow. Ow." Ruby held her wrist to her chest, face screwed up in pain. She'd been so distracted by the freedom from her wolf that she hadn't thought about being injured. Apparently, her ability to endure pain also disappeared with her wolf.

"Dear god, I forgot what pain felt like without my wolf as a buffer," she groused in a tight tone. "Okay, I'm coming back over." She took a deep, steadying breath and then returned to the constant struggle with her wolf. She shivered as the blue glow surrounded her again and shook out her hands as the urge to run filled her veins.

"Okay, give it back," she said seriously, no longer comfortable missing her heart now that their experiment proved successful.

Emma wordlessly returned the organ to her chest, letting her readjust to the feeling of it inside of her. The gravity of what she'd done finally slapped Emma in the face. She loved Regina so much that she voluntarily surrendered her heart in order to find out if she and Belle had in fact discovered a way to cross the line safely. Her heart swelled with love for the tortured wolf, and Regina moved within her. Emma sighed and clutched at her chest.

That's what Regina felt when she thought about Ruby. It was deep and steady and pulsing. The unconditional affection felt almost motherly but not quite as it mixed with a strong helix of respect and kinship for Ruby's past dark deeds. Emma's chest collapsed as she tried to reconcile Regina's feelings for Ruby with her own. Belle touched her shoulder.

"Emma, are you alright?" She asked and grabbed her shoulders when Emma wavered on her feet.

"I told you. I can feel her," Emma said and met Ruby's gaze. The wolf's big brown eyes narrowed as she wondered exactly what Emma felt.

"Then let's bring our girl home," Ruby responded quietly, her strength and determination shining in her eyes. She puffed out her chest, indicating that she was ready to take Belle's heart.

Belle touched her lover's face with one hand and nodded to Emma. Ruby steadied her with a strong hand on her shoulder when Emma's hand sunk into her chest.

"It itches," she commented and wrinkled her nose. Of course the ever-curious bookworm found the new experience fascinating. She gasped and winced when Emma pulled it free.

"Belle, what does it feel like?" Ruby asked and wiped an anxious, sweaty hand over her jeans.

"Sort of… like excitement, nervous excitement, I suppose," she tried to help her lover understand, but it wasn't nearly adequate enough a description. Belle pressed against her right side and laid her head on her shoulder, preparing to catch the wolf when she faltered.

"Belle," Ruby whispered when the second organ joined her own strong heart. The taller woman wobbled, and her partner held her upright.

"Emma, I have a bag packed in the back seat. Could you…?" Blue eyes pleaded with her, and she nodded, giving them a moment to themselves.

The Mercedes flung shards of ice at her heart. She missed Regina, even though she felt her essence rolling and crashing against her own soul. She kept moving. It hurt less when she focused on a task. Belle's bag was heavy, making her intentions of staying with Henry and Emma until Regina came home clear. Was her entire wardrobe in the gigantic bag? Emma strained, hefted the bag, gave up and dragged it across the pavement. Her strength was shot from lack of sleep and the past few days of packing children and mulch around. She wrestled with the bag and felt a sense of satisfaction when she finally closed the trunk.

"Emma, we have something for you," Ruby said, suddenly at her side.

Belle approached with a plain white box people packed clothes in when they wrapped them for presents. "It was supposed to be a birthday present, but we thought under the circumstances, you'd like to have it now." She explained as she sat the box on the trunk and then wrapped herself around Ruby.

Emma raised an eyebrow at the box and then used her forefingers to lift the lid. "Belle, Ruby, this is… Thank you." Emma glanced between brown and blue eyes and then lifted the red leather jacket from the box. It was identical to the one that had been destroyed, and a familiar rush of confidence filled her when she slid it up her arms.

"I kept the old one for the size and stuff. I saw it after you went into surgery that night while I was getting your keys and the sheriff department's phone. I'm sorry it took me so long to order you another one," Ruby explained, pleased that Emma loved her gift.

"Regina is going to kill both of you for doing this, and then me, and then you again. She hated that jacket." Emma smiled fondly at the memories of the many barbs and jibes towards the "red leather monstrosity" that Regina disapproved of so fervently.

"She'll get over it," Ruby said. "Now, get back to Salem and go through those files. I really don't want to think about why they're keeping her alive.

Emma nodded and accepted the lanky waitress into her arms. It mattered very little why Ruby was so angry. They'd be okay. They were family. It was okay to get pissed at family because they always came back after a fight. When Regina came home, she planned to address the hot rage towards her that she'd felt in Ruby's heart. She nodded and glanced at Belle and then back to Ruby. A silent understanding passed between them. If one hair on Belle's head came back out of place, Ruby skinned her alive.

"Take your time, Belle," Emma said and then retreated to the silver Camry, allowing the lovers a private moment to say goodbye as she turned the car around.

She touched her son's hair as she waited. He slumbered heavily against the door, poor kid. This world seemed determined to rip his innocence violently away from him, and no matter how fervently she and Regina railed against it and shielded him, it constantly pushed back. Kids were resilient creatures, she knew that from personal experience, but eventually, the spirit broke under too much strain and abuse.

"Hold on, Regina. I'm coming for you," Emma whispered. A bag of bricks slammed into her chest when Regina's love pulled through her. "Stay strong for our son. Stay strong for me. I know you're out there. I feel you."


	12. True Love is Magic, Too

Hello Sweet Doves! Thank you all for your reviews! They helped me get through my own heartache about what I was writing and pushed forward to this chapter. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: I Can Still Feel You by Collin Raye, Never Let Me Go by Florence and The Machine.

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Days ticked by slowly. Emma had been as far west as Michigan and as far south as Pennsylvania in the past week, following lead after lead and coming up empty. Regina slipped out of her heart a little more everyday, and with her essence, Emma's sanity also fell away from her tortured mind. Determination became obsession, and even Henry questioned whether or not Emma actually felt Regina's lifeline or if she made it up in order to protect herself.

He believed a little less everyday in the hope that his adoptive mother still lived, and Belle and Felicia helped the boy grieve and adjust to life without Regina as he watched his birth mother deteriorate before his eyes. Emma hadn't slept in three days, and probably hadn't eaten in at least that long. Belle lost track after a while of what Emma had and hadn't done. She drank coffee, studied her maps and files, and listened to Regina's message at least a dozen times a day that she saw. Her heart broke a little more everyday, knowing she felt exactly the same way when Ruby slipped away from her.

Except Ruby had been alive and well and physically in front of her. Emma's torment came from the unknown. There wasn't a body, no proof of life lost, and that single fact pushed Emma forward when she lost grasp of Regina's essence moving within her. She believed each time it slipped away that it only returned as long as she still believed in Regina's still beating heart.

"Emma?" Belle called from the porch and crossed her arms over her chest against the chill of the cool night air.

The Savior had returned an hour ago from another failed lead. Luckily, Henry had already fallen asleep hours ago and was spared his mother's after-midnight tirade of marking a giant black 'X' on the location and trolling through her files for another location to search. She thought Emma had took off again when she went outside, but after 10 minutes of not hearing the car start, Belle came to check on her.

Emma stood on the curb at the end of the driveway, head bowed, phone pressed to her ear. Belle wondered how violently Emma might have reacted if she deleted the message. She shook the thought away and descended the five steps off the porch. Emma needed to sleep before she completely lost her mind.

"I feel you," Emma whispered, and Belle's jaw clenched. How could she possibly have saved Emma from her own mind, from what her heart and soul told her was reality? She believed until she no longer felt Regina move inside of her, and there wasn't a damn thing anyone could have done to change that.

"Emma," Belled tried again as Emma lowered the phone and saved the message. "You need to sleep."

"I can't," Emma whispered and tucked her phone safely into her pocket. She wavered and barely caught her balance as she turned around to face the librarian.

"How much longer do you think you can continue looking for her in your condition? You can barely stand upright," Belle chided her lovingly and silently pleaded with her eyes for Emma to listen to her.

"No, I mean, I can't sleep, Belle. I want to sleep. So very badly. I know everyone thinks I'm going nuts, but I really just need to sleep a few hours. It's making me crazy because I can't focus." Emma finally admitted, and green eyes pleaded with blue in the fluorescent street light for help.

"Then let's put you to bed," Belle said and held out a hand to her. Emma took it but gave no indication she meant to move from her spot.

"I can't sleep, Belle. I keep having this nightmare. Regina…" she choked on a sob and allowed Belle to pull her into an embrace.

The smaller woman's cheek rested on her shoulder as she stared up at her tortured friend. Her hands held Emma's back tightly, but Emma's hung limply at her sides. It was a start, Belle thought. At least she allowed the small comfort. The last time Belle tried to hug her she'd been shoved away roughly a moment before Emma stalked out the door and left for her latest mission.

"She's strapped to a table and hooked up to this machine. They're torturing her. I know it. I don't think it's a nightmare. I think I'm seeing what Regina is seeing and feeling what she's feeling. It's like they're sucking the life out of her, and every time they do, I feel her less and less inside of me. They're killing her. They're taking her from me. They're taking us." Emma babbled into Belle's hair. Her eyes were open and distant and haunted.

"Would it help it I held you? I could stay awake and wake you up if it looks like you are having the nightmare," Belle suggested gently. If she were honest, she needed the comfort of holding someone as much as Emma needed the comfort of being held. She ached for Ruby and her heart which was encased in Ruby's chest. She trusted the wolf implicitly, but she still felt the absence of the organ.

Emma nodded after a few silent moments, and Belle led her to the house with a firm arm around her waist. Belle lowered her to the couch, knowing she'd not even looked at her bed since the first night they stayed in Salem. Emma had gone there at first when they settled down for sleep but emerged about 20 minutes later, unable to tolerate being surrounded by Regina's scent and her big empty bed.

Emma and Regina hadn't bothered setting up a guest room, figuring their family would never have been able to visit them because of the barrier. So, the two extra bedrooms had been turned into other things. One was a work out room for Emma and the other served as Regina's new study, which meant she and Belle had been crashing on the sofas in the living room.

She snagged the comforter she'd been using and propped herself on pillows on the arm of the bigger sofa. Emma handed her the t.v. remote from the coffee table and then hesitated, unsure how Belle wanted to work this. Belle wasn't particularly physically affectionate to begin with, barring Ruby and Henry, so Emma floundered now that the moment had arrived to actually cuddle up to the reserved woman.

"Emma, come here," Belle ordered and pointed to the small space between her and the back of the couch and then patted her chest. Emma understood what she meant.

Awkwardly, she wedged her body between the tiny librarian and the plushy black leather. She laid on her arm, keeping it tucked beneath her for about five seconds until her shoulder immediately ached. She pushed herself up, and Belle huffed in frustration.

"Damn it, Emma, just hold me," she ordered sharply and then softened when Emma's eyes fell. "It's okay, Emma." She touched her shoulder and tugged it gently towards her.

The blonde slid her arm beneath Belle's back and then wiggled until her body felt comfortable before lowering her cheek to a thin shoulder. Belle pulled her arm free and wrapped it around Emma's back, forcing her head to her chest. Emma's breath caught as renewed affection for the fierce former princess swelled in her chest. She'd never really been comforted by anyone except Regina and her mother that one time after her and Regina's pretend fight at the diner when they had attempted to trick Cora.

Emma's other hand rested awkwardly on her thigh, and after a few silent moments of adjusting to their intimate position, she tossed it carefully around Belle's waist. Her hand moved to her ribs, splayed flat across her side, dropped to her hip and then clenched into a fist that rested against her side. Belle set the remote on the coffee table and touched Emma's forearm with light fingers.

"Emma, you can hold me. It's okay," she assured her clearly distressed friend. She rubbed her arm, and Emma's hand slowly relaxed, pressing into her side.

"Sorry, I'm not used to cuddling with anyone but Regina," she said insecurely, and Belle brushed a hand over her hair.

"Neither am I. I mean, with Ruby, not Regina, but I trust you and I think I need this, too." She explained and then fell silent. They breathed quietly into the dark, nothing else needed to be said.

"I'm not sure I'd ever cuddle with Regina, not even under these circumstances," Belle admitted suddenly. Emma winced.

"It still bothers you, doesn't it?" Emma said needlessly. Of course it bothered Belle. She'd been held captive and tortured by her lover's best friend for three decades.

"She's not that person anymore. I know that, but yes, it bothers me. I still wake up with nightmares sometimes. I understand the deprivation of resources, keeping me weak and disoriented, but I never understood why she felt the need to… you know," Belle huffed and tensed in her arms. Emma pressed her hand into her side in a show of support. Belle remained ignorant of Regina's sexual abuse at Rumpelstiltskin's hands.

"Sometimes, if I wake up in a strange place or it's still dark outside or even if I have kicked the blanket off in my sleep and feel cold, I have an anxiety attack because I feel like I'm still in that place. It's not nearly as frequent as when I first regained my memories, but it does still happen. I'm working through it with Dr. Hopper and Ruby." Belle explained to her. She struggled to understand her sudden need to divulge all of this to Emma, but once it had been said, she was glad that she'd told her. She felt a little lighter. She loved Emma, trusted her, and believed that Emma would listen even though Regina was her true love.

"It didn't have anything to do with you, Belle. I know that doesn't justify it or make it any better, but what The Evil Queen did, she did to hurt Rumpelstiltskin, not you." Emma said, hoping her words helped ease her friend's struggle.

"I figured as much. What he did to her was much worst than what she did to me, wasn't it?" She asked, her tone telling Emma that she understood exactly what she was asking Emma to do. She sought understanding and achieved that only with the whole truth. It was a simple yes or no question, nothing that demanded details or betrayed Regina's trust. She already knew Rumpel's actions led to her captivity and subsequent torture, but she needed outside confirmation.

"Belle, that doesn't make her actions okay, nor does it lessen what you went through. What you're going through. I understand that, and so does she. She's only spoken about what happened between you and her and her and Rumpelstiltskin once. She refuses when I ask her about it. Everything else is an open book, but not those two things. She doesn't want to accept it and move on. She wants to torture herself with it because she knows it still bothers you. I've given up on trying to get her to move past it. She won't until you completely forgive her, and if you never do, we both understand why."

Both women fell silent and chewed on what Emma just confided. She readjusted her head on Belle's chest and sighed.

"Belle?" The librarian hummed as she pulled from her reverie. "Why is Ruby so mad at me?" Emma asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer. She knew that she intentionally fought her sleep, but the conversation and tight embrace soothed her almost as much as a nap would have.

"It's an irrational anger, Emma. Don't worry about it. She blames you for Regina's disappearance. If she hadn't have left Storybrooke that day to be with you, she probably would never have been alone and in a position to be ambushed. Also, I think there are some lingering emotions about you pushing her out of the way instead of letting her take the bullet for Regina herself." Belle added, partially suspecting Emma received her lover's irrational anger for the abuse she suffered at Cora's hands and heart.

"If she had been shot, she wouldn't have been at that party and probably wouldn't have been kidnapped. Cora never would have taken her heart, and Hook never would have… Fuck." Emma clenched Belle's side almost painfully as the realization washed over her. No, the anger wasn't rational, but her actions set in motion the series of events that led to Ruby's rape… one similar to what Regina had suffered at the hands of Rumpelstiltskin when he'd taken her heart and forced her to watch him brutalize her in her own mirror.

The strong women she'd come to accept as her family were so profoundly and irreversibly screwed up.

"She has a right to be angry," Emma said and sniffed, unable to catch the tear before it rolled onto Belle's chest. Belle swallowed audibly.

"I can handle her being angry for those reasons as long as she keeps letting you in. She needs your love to help her to put herself back together, and if she can only do that while being angry at me, then so be it. She's family, and I won't abandon her no matter how pissed she gets at me." Emma quietly vowed, confident in the fierce honesty behind her words.

"Rumpel did that to her, didn't he? What happened between Hook and Ruby? Except it was probably worst for Regina because Rumpel knew exactly what he was doing. Hook didn't know." Belle said before she thought better of it and then clamped her mouth shut. She shouldn't have put Emma in the position to divulge anymore information about Regina's past.

"Belle," Emma whispered, her tone a cross between compassion and frustration. She wanted to help Belle understand, but answering her questions outright violated Regina's confidence. They'd probably already crossed that line in regards to both of their partners by saying what they'd already said.

"Don't say anything, Emma," Belle quickly soothed her friend. "It's okay. I don't need to know any more than I already do." She pressed a quick kiss to Emma's forehead and then settled into the pillows and reached for the t.v. remote. Emma smiled at the shy librarian's constant consideration of others. She was truly the most forgiving and compassionate person on the planet.

Emma grinned when Blanche's dulcet Southern Belle tone and Dorothy's irritated rumble filtered into the quiet living room. Regina had them all addicted to watching the sitcom during sleepless nights. Between the warmth of being tucked into the sofa, the comfort of the body beside her, and the familiar sounds of the laughter from a live studio audience, Emma finally drifted into a fitful slumber.

_Regina woke to a cool damp cloth being pressed to her forehead. The gesture was soft, almost intimate, and her eyes lulled open, fully expecting Emma or Ruby to be in front of her eyes. A scruffy beard and harsh male features slid into her blurry vision. She lashed out, pulling her head from the towel with the little strength she had left. How dare that bastard touch her like this? Physical torture she knew how to handle, but intimate gestures of captors led to more sinister things._

"_You know, this will end more quickly if you stop fighting it. Why are you clinging so tightly to your magic?" The male voice asked, and she tried to identify it. Neal._

"_Are we in Storybrooke?" She asked and coughed from the dryness in her throat. _

"_No," he clipped and moved away from her. She heard the whine of the machine and closed her eyes against the pain. Gathering spit, she swallowed twice before speaking again._

"_Then I have no magic. It's tied to Storybrooke," she rasped and then chuckled as she realized how futile their efforts were. Morons._

"_Oh Regina," he laughed and leaned over her, bracing himself on his hands on either side of her head. "It's there. That machine, it's designed to find magic. So, if you don't have magic outside of Storybrooke, what is it telling us you have? Hm?" _

_She held her tongue and braced herself. She suspected what they read was in fact her true love for Emma Swan and wanted to keep that fact to herself as long as possible. _

"_Emma is coming for me," she spat and then grinned. "You have no idea who you're dealing with." She raised slightly off the cold steel table and jerked against her restraints, gnashing her teeth at his face. Her stumbled backwards at the sudden aggression, and she laughed coldly as her head thumped against the table. _

"_I was wondering how long it'd take you to mention Emma," he said matter-of-factly and shuffled around the room. "I was waiting before I showed you this." _

_He held a picture above her eyes. Her heart clenched painfully when she focused her eyes enough to study it. Emma sat on the ground in front of Felicia's house. Her head hung between her knees and her mouth was open in what appeared to be a scream. Emma. Her wrist pressed achingly against the shackle as her hand rose involuntarily with her desire to touch the picture of her anguished lover. A swell of love beat painfully against her chest, and the machine beeped. _

_Neal and the picture disappeared. She just told him what magic it was he attempted to extract from her soul. Her jaws clenched as she gathered all of her love and clung tightly. They'd not take Emma from her, not like this. She jerked in surprise when something clicked and the whine of the machine disappeared._

"_I thought that's what it was." He sounded exhausted, and Regina raised her head. What the hell just happened?_

"_Neal, let me go. Let me go home to her," Regina pleaded, hoping now that he knew the magic she possessed wasn't evil that she'd be granted an ounce of compassion._

"_Home. Magic destroyed my home. My father. My life." He pulled a chair to her head and sat beside her. His arms crossed on the table at her ear, and she jerked from what her survival instinct perceived as a threat. He smiled maniacally at her._

"_The Evil Queen. How the mighty have fallen. The Dark One begged, too. It was particularly satisfying to drain him of his magic. Seems he's nothing but a coward without it. A weak, powerless, pathetic excuse for a man. Like you. Nothing without your magic." He stood abruptly and flipped the switch on the machine. _

_She heard the clicks and whirls as he adjusted the knobs, and her chin quivered as she grappled with her emotions, trying to shut them down. When he played with the knobs, her love for Emma became harder and harder to cling to. He meant to take all of it, and she adjusted her shoulders, determined to hold on until Emma saved her. Emma came for her. She just had to give her enough time to find her. _

"_How long have I been here?" She asked suddenly. He checked the clips and straps qiuetly, and she feared he denied her an answer. How long had Emma been alone? Had she figured out Mendell's people watched her and Henry yet?_

"_Today makes a week exactly you've been in this exact location. You've been with us ten days, which is about nine days longer than every other magical being we've drained. it's almost impressive," he complimented honestly and slammed the side of his fist into the red button. _

_That's why she felt so weak. She hadn't eaten in nearly two weeks and had been given water in distant intervals, enough to keep her alive until her magic was extracted. Luckily, her head wound had been at least packed and gauze wrapped around her head to hold it in place. Otherwise, she might have bled to death. _

_The cuff around her wrist burned and slurped at her heart and soul, and she forced it away from her love. Anger and hatred flared, wrapping a cocoon of harsh protection around the only thing in her soul worthy of protecting, her love. Fire spread beneath her skin, like a thousand thorns tearing her flesh from the inside out. She struggled, but as always when they cranked the strength on the machine, a small piece of her love slipped away before she adjusted to the amount of anger she needed in order to save it. She felt her heart hardening again and prayed the Emma saved it once more with her gentle kisses and childish tantrums at waking up in the morning and bright green eyes so full of love that Regina nearly sobbed when they floated into her mind. _

_The fire ceased and her back collapsed to the table. She pulled desperately at her heart and sobbed when Emma's essence moved inside her mind, soothing the terror and fear. She was still there. He hadn't taken all of her. The knob twisted again, and air hitched in her throat, gagging her. He was moving up his timeline. She gathered her energy and locked everything down, praying she hid her love far enough inside to save it from the onslaught._

_Fire burned. Pain flashed behind her eyes. Her shoulders jerked from the table. A hollow scream tore from her throat. She hadn't stood a chance against the strength of the magic extraction machine. She fell to the table with a sob._

"_Emma," she whimpered, digging deep to find a sliver of her beautiful lover still clinging to her soul. She'd not survive another round. Emma was gone. Her love for her ripped away in the harshest manner possible. Regina cried freely. Her soul felt hollow and empty, but she continued to search for a tiny shred of their combined magic in her heart. She came up empty. _

"_You have a son," she whined when he adjusted the knob again, her words barely above a whisper. Their love may have been destroyed, but her love for Henry and Ruby and Granny and Belle remained. She still had reasons to fight and survive. She and Emma might have rebuilt their love while Regina helped her take care of their son. She bought time with her last ditch confession._

"_What?" Neal whipped around and stalked to the table. He grabbed her throat and forced her eyes to his._

"_You have a son," Regina repeated and gasped around the fingers cutting off her oxygen._

"_Henry," she choked and then sucked a sharp breath as fresh cool air filled her lungs. "I adopted him 11 and a half years ago. Emma gave birth to him in prison. That's why he calls me mom. She came to Storybrooke because he went to Boston and found her almost two years ago."_

_A high-pitched cry tore from her throat when he grabbed it again. It was scared and feminine and so unlike The Evil Queen. He faltered._

"_Please Neal, tell Emma where I am, and you can get to know him if he wants to know you. Please don't take her away from me," she whispered. Emma was already gone, but he hadn't known that. He was ignorant of the fact that she now fought for her life and not her love. _

_Her face flushed with heat as he squeezed the breath from her and grunted when he slammed her back into the table. Her still healing head injury throbbed as blood rushed back to her brain, and she whimpered. _

"_Do you love her?" He asked carefully, his voice neutral. She nodded and gulped air. Her confession startled something inside of him. She was getting through, and the next words broke her._

"_That's what your taking from me. True love transcends realms. I don't need to be in Storybrooke to feel it. It's the most powerful magic that has ever existed, but it's not something to be wielded, not in the traditional sense of the word. Please Neal, you don't have to do anything else but tell her where I am. She'll come for me." Regina begged, uncaring how weak she may have seemed. _

_She wanted to go home. This wasn't who she was anymore. She wasn't a woman filled with enough vengeance and hatred and evil to withstand an indeterminate amount of torture, not like The Evil Queen. Emma destroyed that woman the moment she decided to love her unconditionally. She was just Regina, and she'd reached the limit of her tolerance. She never wanted to be The Evil Queen in the first place, and she certainly feared becoming that woman again, now that she knew how life felt without her. Life with Emma and Henry away from magic. A life that was now built on a love that didn't exist anymore. _

_Tears slipped down her face. What was the point of going back? She should have let him kill her. _

"_How do I know you're telling the truth?" He questioned her motives, her honesty. He knew how to recognize desperation when it lay before him, and frantic people went to fantastical measures when faced with death. He was close to taking all of her magic, and she felt it. Still, a sliver of conscience nagged the back of his mind. What if she told the truth?_

"_Ask Emma. She hit you at Granny's to obtain a sample of your blood. Henry is your biological son, and Emma is my true love. Ask her, Neal, before you kill me or you will regret your actions the rest of your life when your son discovers exactly who his father is," Regina warned, hoping her threat scared him. It had. _

_He leaned over her again, his breath hot on her sweaty face. "You have as long as it takes me to get to Salem and back to live. I doubt they'll bother with you now, but if they do, pretend you're passed out. It's no fun if they can't watch your pain. And if you're lying to me…" He grabbed her chin and throat and jerked her eyes to his. _

"_If you're lying to me, I'll keep you alive until I grow bored of you or you kill yourself. You understand?" His hand slid over her breasts and stomach, and she knew exactly what he meant by bored. When she was too weak to beg him to stop, he killed her. _

_Brown eyes slammed shut when rough fingers slid along her thigh beneath her skirt. She held her breath subconsciously when his large hand cupped her crotched and squeezed. He only emphasized his point, she reminded herself. It was a scare tactic. She wasn't actually in any danger of being raped right now, not when his mind reeled with the possibility that he had a son. _

"Regina!" Emma shot upright, almost dislodging the bleary-eyed librarian from the sofa.

Belle touched her shoulder with two reticent fingers, eyes wide with the fear Emma wasn't sure where she was. She released a relieved sigh when Emma settled back into their embrace. The blonde heaved into her chest as uncontrollable sobs mingled with the murmur of the television. Belle held her tightly and pressed a kiss to her forehead, knowing words wouldn't have soothed Emma in this moment.

"She's gone, Belle," Emma sobbed and clutched at her side. "I can't feel her anymore. She's gone."

Belle's forehead furrowed as tears of her own burned behind her tired eyes and the spot where her heart should have been lurched painfully. Whether Regina had just been killed or Emma finally accepted her reality, Belle hadn't a clue, but hearing those words from Emma's lips stripped away the last of her own belief that Regina clung to life. Her chest ached for Ruby's embrace, but in the absence of her own true love, she clung tightly to Emma and grieved with her. Tears flowed freely onto tangled blonde hair and flushed chest as they relinquished their iron-clad grasps on their emotions.

Words weren't necessary, nor would they have been helpful. Emma just accepted the loss of the other half of her soul. She was forever changed and faced with a grief that lingered for the rest of her natural life. Belle cried for Regina and hoped her tears weren't also for Emma. It was possible that she'd just lost both women in that moment, one to death and the other to grief.

She clung tightly and prayed at least one of the only two people in this world she considered friends as well as family remained with her when morning broke.


	13. Home

My Doves! Thank you so much for your reviews! I love reading them and hearing your favorite parts. They totally make my day, and in return, here is another update.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Never Let Me Go by Florence and The Machine, Paradise by Within Temptation feat. Tarja Turunen

* * *

Belle watched sadly from the porch as Emma packed her bag back into the trunk of the Camry. She took a deep breath and nodded to Emma when the blonde glanced up at her from the driveway. It'd been two days since Emma's breakdown. She waited to make sure that Emma had truly lost touch with Regina's soul before asking her friend to return her to Storybrooke and Ruby and her heart. It'd been nearly two weeks. Regina was gone.

Emma seemed calmer now that Regina stopped moving within her soul. She was sad, withdrawn, grieving, but she'd begrudgingly taken down her maps last night and then broke down again in Belle's arms after Henry had gone to bed. The boy coped much better than his biological mother, as children often do. She'd spoken with Emma this morning about deleting the message, but Emma blatantly refused. She hadn't accepted Regina's death yet, at least not enough to let her go. Baby steps.

Emma climbed the steps dejectedly. She and Henry could not possibly stay in this house now. The boy had asked to go back to school several days ago, and Emma allowed it, figuring if he was there then he wasn't at the house watching her slowly lose her mind. He was her entire world now.

Felicia waved from her flower bed, but there was no joy in her eyes. Emma nodded once and continue into the house. They left for Storybrooke tonight. She was out of leads, and Ruby had run out of nooks and crannies to dust in Storybrooke. They hit a wall, and Emma had a son to care for now with no proof of Regina's continued existence.

She sighed and pulled her gun holster onto her belt but left the firearm on the dresser. A knock at the door pulled her back as she almost turned and looked at her bed. Something else to do beside think about the last time she and Regina had been between those sheets. High heels clicked through the foyer, telling her Belle answered the door.

"Emma!" Her scream tore through the house and Emma shot towards the front door.

Neal stood on the porch, backing away with his hands in the air in what seemed like a placating gesture. She dug in and charged him full speed. Anger flared in her chest as she slammed into him. Limbs flailed in the air, and time seemed to stand still as she bodily tackled him off the porch. They both rolled to a stop on the driveway. Emma found her feet first and brought her boot onto his face, breaking his nose.

"Where is she!" She grabbed his shirt with both hands and jerked him into a sitting position. When he failed to answer quickly enough, Emma backhanded his cheek with a squall of rage.

"Where is she, you piece of shit?" She shook him and then jerked back in pain. Blood oozed onto her elbow and wrist from the deep slice on her shoulder and bicep. The pain turned into a white hot rage as she stared him down, knife and all.

"Emma, damn it, I didn't come to fight. Just listen to me," Neal placated, holding the knife with two fingers as if to say he had only used to free himself from her abuse.

"I don't give a shit why you're here," she said coldly and took menacing steps towards him. He backed towards the curb where his car was parked, turning to run when he reached the edge of the sidewalk.

Emma pounced on him, bouncing his face off the hood before he used his larger size to pick her up bodily and toss her into the street. She rolled, grunting when her elbow scraped on the blacktop. He grabbed her by the hair at the back of her head before she recovered and pressed the knife into her throat.

"Is he mine?" He asked quietly. This was about Henry.

"Fuck you," Emma seethed and jabbed the heel of her hand into his crotch.

He jerked, and the knife sliced her throat. It hurt, but it wasn't deep despite the warm trickle spilling onto her collarbone. She leaned back on her elbow and kicked the back of knee as hard as possible. He hit the ground with grunt as his breath left him. She rolled away immediately, adrenaline pushing her forward. She stomped on his hand, and the knife clattered to the pavement.

She snatched it up and pressed it to his throat. Movement caught her eye, and she glanced up. Belle stood a few feet away, her gun leveled at the man. A cold sneer graced her normally placid face. A small crowd of suburban housewives gathered to watch Emma Swan take down a guy twice her size in order to gain information of Regina's whereabouts.

"You know how to use that thing?" Emma asked, feeling quite certain the fierce librarian had been properly school by her lover. Belle responded by clicking off the safety and cocking the firing pin into position. Emma grinned wickedly.

"I would stay put if I were you," she warned Neal. "Where is she?"

"Is he mine?" Neal asked again. Emma pulled him forward by his shirt and backhand him with the hand gripping the knife handle.

"Answer me!" She demanded. Her voice was a hollow growl, evidence of her thin grip on her control.

"No, you answer me!" He shouted back at her. "What the fuck!"

He screamed and reached for his leg, but his head snapped back when Emma's fist connected with his nose. She twisted the knife sticking from his thigh as she pulled it out. Emma sneered and raised the knife, readying to plunge it into his flesh once more.

"Stop! In my pocket. An address and directions," he conceded, fearing Emma's mental state too far gone not to torture him to death.

Emma pulled out the folded piece of paper and retreated towards Belle, staying far out of her firing line. She unfolded it with shaking fingers. The paper contained an Internet map and directions to an isolated house on the other side of Boston. She looked up into hard blue eyes.

"This is less than an hour from here," she said in disbelief. Regina had been so close the entire time.

"Go, Emma," Belle encouraged and stepped towards the man writhing in pain on the ground.

"Belle, I need my gun," Emma said, her fingers aching to feel the comfort of the cold steel.

"Shall I kill him now or are we holding him hostage?" Belle asked, her voice deadly serious. Everyone, including Emma, recoiled at the very real possibility that the petite, reserved woman in a light blue sun dress and high heels might spray the man's brain matter all over the pavement.

"Hostage!" Emma squeaked. "He might be lying."

Belle nodded, strode to the man and smacked his temple with the butt of the gun. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. She released the firing pin without discharging the weapon, secured the safety and hand it to Emma who would have simply stared in shock at what Belle had just done if she wasn't desperate to check out this lead.

"Tie him up. There should be something in the shed out back," Emma said, handed her the knife and then jumped into his car, figuring the familiar vehicle gave her an advantage. She programmed the address into the GPS and then took off with a screech.

Belle glanced at the crowd staring and pointing. With a smirk, she offered them a perfect regal curtsey and then followed Emma's instructions. One long nylon rope and a four foot long 2X4 later, she returned to the man groaning in the street. He winced as he stirred to life, pulling himself into a sitting position. She sighed, rolled her eyes and bashed the side of his head with the flat of the board, humming when he collapsed onto the pavement once more.

She jerked on his shirt until his dead weight rolled onto his belly. The board thumped as she slammed it onto his back. She was pissed, and the more pain she caused him, the better she felt. A calm fell over her as she worked, cutting notches into the board. She crisscrossed the rope in the grooves, ensuring it wouldn't slide and then secured his hands in bonds on either side. She cut the rope and bound his ankles together, attaching that piece to the board as well, effectively hogtying the man. If he straightened his legs, he jerked his shoulders painfully. He was hers.

"Anyone care to lend a hand?" Belle asked the crowd. "Or we can leave him to be run over. That's fine, too. Seems too good for the man who kidnapped Regina Mills, though," she said the last sentence more to herself than them, but they reacted visibly to the statement anyway.

Felicia stepped forward and grabbed the board with shaking hands. Emily followed, and the three drug the heavy man to the curb and left him there in the hot sun. Belle nodded to the women as she pulled her phone from her bra.

"Ruby," she breathed and then grinned into Ruby's sentiments. "I miss you, too, Sweetheart. I'm coming home soon. I think Emma found her. I'll call you back when she returns. I just wanted to hear your voice."

Belle flushed and turned away from Emily and Felicia. "Ruby Lucas, that is not an appropriate statement for this situation. No, Neal showed up at her house asking about Henry being his son. He would only have known if Regina told him. She's alive, Love. Emma's going to get her now." She wiped her tears and glanced back at the man, ensuring his still unconscious state.

"No, Emma wouldn't let me kill him. I bashed his head in twice, though. Yes, I'll hit him again for you. I'm just glad Henry wanted to go to school today. I have a feeling I'm going to spend my evening in the hospital, anyway. Neal cut her several times before she brought him down." Belle gave into her need for Ruby to take care of her and stopped fighting her tears.

"She's bringing her home, Sweetheart," Belle smiled into the words and sniffed as hot tears dripped freely onto her cheeks. "Yeah, you should go tell them. I love you, too, Ruby Lucas, and when I get home, you're taking some time away from the diner. I don't care if I have to hogtie Granny, too. I need you." Belle smiled brightly, despite the fact that her eyes slipped shut in an endearing frustration.

"Of course, Darling, camping and howling at the moon sounds wonderful as long as it's just you and me. We'll see how long you can go without your cape," Belle conceded with a suggestive hint in her voice, smiling as more tears spilled. "I'll call you back the second she returns. I love you, Ruby."

She ended the call, patted tears from her face, and whirled back to the other women. They both looked confused as hell. Women from Storybrooke were incredibly strange and incredibly tough and incredibly deep lovers of their partners.

"I'm making tea. Care for a cup?" Belle said and then twirled towards Emma and Regina's house, a bounce in her step.

Emma pulled up to the house and stepped out, gun already in her hand. The same calm that settled into her when she'd rescued Regina from Cora flowed through her veins. She moved into the house smoothly and immediately found the first of Regina's captors. A slight hesitation halted her finger a moment before she pulled the trigger. Blood seeped around the hole in the chest of his shirt, and Emma swore she felt her scars burn with the memory of that pain. She pushed it away.

She moved through the rest of the house, finding it empty. Where the hell were they? She'd given herself away with the first crack of her gun. They should have rushed her by now. Fear gripped her heart. Had she just slaughtered an innocent man? She moved back to the front door and glanced around the property, eyes averted from the corpse on the living room floor. Crap. Crap. Crap.

"Fuck," she breathed and then jogged towards the barn. Why was it always a farmhouse?

She cracked the door and then slid into the dark structure. It was a lot larger than she anticipated. The first half contained a long line of darkened horse stalls and ended with a bright light coming from behind a gigantic door about the length of a football field. She took a steadying breath and charged forward, checking the stalls carefully in the darkness. She walked a gauntlet, and each step pulled the chord of tension and dread tighter in her stomach.

Her gun skittered across the floor when a solid figure slammed into her. Breath whooshed from her lungs when she hit the stall wall on the opposite side. She lashed out, throwing wild punches. She connected with something solid, and the hands pressing her into the wall fell away with a grunt from their owner.

A silhouette came into focus, and rage spurned Emma forward. Her head snapped to the side. Blood poured into her mouth. She blocked the next attack and slammed her knee into the ribs of the body in front of her. A woman? A black female. Regina was here. She was sure of it. Neal. Another white male. A black female. Only Mendell remained unseen. She sneered and ducked another punch. Her eyes weren't nearly as adjusted to the dark as the other woman's.

She swung, missed, lost her balance when a boot connected with her stomach and fell backwards into a stall. Air pulled into the her lungs in a painful gasp a moment before the woman straddled her hips. Panic tore into her heart, and Emma lashed out again, just missing the chin with her fist.

"Game over," the woman laughed at her. Nails clawed at the hands on her throat as Emma panicked. Her legs flailed, hips bucking in attempt to dislodge her attacker. Fingers loosened. She gulped a breath. Hands squeezed.

Emma flung her hands around her, hoping by the grace of something holy that a hard object lay within her reach. Something metal hooked around her finger, and she flung it into the face of the woman atop her. It made a solid connection with her temple, and the hands on her throat jerked and then fell away as the woman collapsed to the side. Emma hit her again for good measures as she coughed and sputtered, reopening her windpipe.

The shoeing hook dangled from her fingers as she stumbled back to the center aisle between the rows of stalls. She fumbled with her cell phone and shone the flashlight around, quickly locating the glinting black steel of her gun. The hook clattered to the floor as she abandoned it for the trusted side arm. Her ribs ached and her arms and neck throbbed from the jagged slices from Neal's knife. Every muscle shook from adrenaline, and she paused long enough to lean against the wall and take three calming breaths before she grasped the handle of the large door.

With one last steadying breath, she aimed her weapon and jerked on the sliding door. Light blinded her, and she squinted into the room. Regina. A machine and a figure came into focus on the other side of the table. Her trigger finger reacted before her mind caught up with the decision. The machine puffed and sparked and then toppled off the cart as the figure flew back into it. She winced at the crash and closed her eyes.

Gaze turned towards the floor, she cracked her eyes again, slowly adjusting to the light. She blinked rapidly and stepped into the large room, glancing around for others who may try and kill her or Regina. Finding none, she stumbled towards the table and the very still body atop it.

"Regina!" The gun clattered to the floor. She took Regina's face in both hands, terror dictating her actions. She was pale and gaunt. The bandage around her head looked as though it hadn't been changed in days. But it was Regina, and she'd never been more beautiful to Emma.

"Regina, please. Open your eyes. I'm here. I found you. I came for you. Open your eyes, Baby." Emma begged, chin quivering with emotion.

"Em," Regina rasped. Emma collapsed onto her chest and sobbed. She was alive. She found her.

"I'm here, Baby," Emma choked, unable to do more than give into her exhaustion and emotional upheaval from the past two weeks.

"Em," Regina repeated and shook her hands still in the shackles. Emma pulled herself together, immediately understanding her silent request. She freed her fiancée of the metal and wires and snaps and then took her face in her hands again.

"Came for me," Regina whispered and cracked her eyes. Emma smiled, and a half-gasp, half-sob pulled from her throat when she saw Regina's light brown eyes looking up at her.

"I felt you. They thought I was crazy, but I felt you," Emma said nonsensically. She lowered her lips to Regina's gently, a faint ghosting of skin, an affirmation of life.

"Home," Regina said when Emma pulled back.

"Hospital, Baby. Hospital first." Emma said and grabbed her gun from the floor, holstering it. She'd spent so much time dreaming about finding Regina that she had no clue how to act now that she'd finally achieved her goal.

"Emma," Regina caught her attention. Emma cupped her face again with both hands and gave her undivided attention. "Take me home."

"Home it is," Emma breathed, easily giving into the request.

She helped Regina sit up, waited for her to catch her breath and then pulled her arm over her shoulder. Emma winced under the added weight and then returned Regina to the table. She stood between Regina's knees, facing away from her. Regina understood immediately. Emma was injured, too, and hadn't the strength to hold her weight from the side.

"Here," Emma said, pulling Regina's thighs around her waist. "Can you hold onto my neck?"

"I'll try," Regina said and pulled on her last bit of strength. She was starved, dehydrated and she hadn't moved from the table in over a week. She stayed conscious because she willed herself to be, not because there was a scientific or rational explanation of why she was.

Emma hefted her weight onto her back and leaned forward like a turtle, taking most of the strain from Regina's arms. Like Regina, Emma's strength came from her will and adrenaline. She stopped several times to catch her breath and readjust her practically dead weight and then pushed forward before her adrenaline faded completely. They both winced into the bright light of the midday sun, and Emma collapsed forward onto her hands and knees.

Regina's weak body bounced against her and then rolled onto the scratchy grass. Emma reached for her again.

"I'm sorry, Baby. I couldn't go any farther," Emma apologized for dropping her. If Regina had the strength, she'd have rolled her eyes at her partner. She'd just carried her the length of a football field in a hunched over turtle position because she was too weak to hold onto her or walk on her own, and Emma felt bad that her muscles had given out.

"I'm going to go get the car," Emma said and took off like a shot. She wobbled on her shaking legs, held her pounding ribs, and ignored both. She intended to be parted from Regina the smallest amount of time possible.

She pulled the passenger side door as close to Regina's position on the ground as she dared. Terror and relief and a thousand other emotions slammed into her chest when she rounded the old car and saw tears flowing freely from Regina's eyes. She was alive and safe and here. She'd found her. After much tugging and maneuvering, Regina settled into the seat and leaned heavily against the door.

Emma stopped at a small gas station just outside of Boston and bought two bottles of water and a microwavable cup of chicken noodle soup. The reason behind a convenience store selling canned goods never made sense to her before now. It was the best thing after sliced bread in this moment. The clerk stared at her injuries, but she paid with cash before heating the soup, so the man withheld comment.

She slid behind the wheel and cracked a bottle of water for Regina. The older woman's hands shook too violently to hold the bottle, so Emma tipped the water into her mouth. Regina coughed and sputtered, and Emma recapped the bottle.

"I thought maybe you'd like something warm," Emma said and presented the soup in the container made for drinking out of like a thermos. She tipped some into her own mouth first, testing the temperature. It was just above lukewarm, enough to sooth but not enough to burn.

Green eyes pleaded with brown. Regina probably hadn't eaten since she'd been kidnapped if her pale skin and gaunt face were any indication. She really should have been taken to the hospital. Emma decided that if she passed out one time she was taking her whether she wanted to go or not.

Regina must have sensed her fear because she opened her mouth and allowed Emma to pour a small amount over her tongue. She swallowed dutifully. The warm liquid soothed her raw throat, and she opened her mouth again. It took half an hour, but she managed to drink half of the broth and soft noodles before her stomach clenched and tightened with nausea. She shook her head when Emma offered her the now cold soup again.

She sat it in the cup holder, pulled out her cell phone, and touched Regina's hand.

"Belle, I've got her. Do me a favor and run a hot bath in our bedroom. We're about 30 minutes away, so wait about 20 minutes. Also, ask Felicia to clear people away from the house. No, we're not going to the hospital just yet. Because Regina wants to come home."

She ended the call without waiting for Belle's response and tossed it into the other cup holder. Regina squeezed her hand, and Emma met her gaze. She averted her eyes and grabbed her phone again.

"Jane, hey, I know Salem isn't your jurisdiction, but I need you to maybe make a call for me. I found Regina. She's…" Green eyes flicked to her brown. "She's alive. Look, one of the guys who kidnapped her is tied up in front of my house. I'd really like him to be gone by the time we get home. We're about 30 minutes away. No, we're not going to the hospital just yet. Because Regina wants to go home. Thanks Jane." She ended the second call and shoved the phone into her pocket.

She met Regina's eyes again for only a moment before dropping her gaze to their joined hands.

"This is how you felt when I got shot, isn't it? Helpless. Not quite sure what to do with your hands. No idea what to say," Emma confessed her struggle. Regina squeezed her hand.

"Tell me," Regina commanded in a rasping almost inaudible whisper. Emma's brow furrowed in confusion. "Love me," Regina tried again. Emma's heart melted.

"I love you," she said immediately and pressed her mouth against Regina's hand.

"I love you." She kissed her cheek.

"I love you." She brushed her lips over Regina's softly, reverently.

"I love you." She caught Regina's tear with a thumb.

"Emma," Regina choked around tears, and Emma pressed her forehead to her shoulder and wrapped her free hand around her waist.

"I love you, Regina," Emma said again as her own tears dripped onto Regina's shirt. She desperately needed a bath, and Emma ignored the scent as she pressed her face into Regina's neck.

When her tears dried, Emma returned to her side of the vehicle and handed her the small bottled water. Regina understood that she was meant to drink it if she managed to control her shaking hands. Regina tensed when they turned onto their street, and Emma squeezed her hand. Felicia had come through for them once more because the street was completely empty when they pulled up to the curb. Neal was gone, and Emma sent a silent thanks to the Salem PD.

Jane, Maura, and Belle sat on the steps and stood simultaneously as the vehicle stopped. They waited patiently to be invited forward. Emma waved them over, knowing she required assistance to get Regina into the house. Jane took one arm around her neck, and Emma took the other. The went immediately to the bathroom and lowered Regina onto the closed toilet lid.

"Regina, I know you're in shock right now, but we're going to wait until you've finished cleaning up," Jane said compassionately. "Maura is a doctor. She's going to check you out since you don't want to go to the hospital. Is that okay?" She asked, glancing between the two women she'd begun to consider friends. Looks like Emma Swan was also faced with the devastating destiny to constantly be chasing down the woman she loved from psychos with personal vendettas, just like her and Maura.

"Yes," Regina said after a long pause. Jane nodded and left without further comment, shutting them away from the rest of the world.

"Baby," Emma squatted in front of Regina and touched her knees with hesitant hands. Regina stared at her hands in her lap, unresponsive. Emma's eyes slammed shut against the burn of tears.

She stood and stripped off her clothes, revealing her body to Regina piece by piece. She fell to her knees once completely naked and played with the hem of Regina's shirt. Regina nodded once, and Emma pulled the back up and over her head so she needn't have raised her arms. Her bra joined her shirt on the floor next, followed by her boots. The zipper of her skirt was loud in the porcelain room.

Emma wrapped an arm beneath her shoulders and lifted her from the toilet. The skirt slid down her thighs easily, and Emma pushed her panties over her hips and then returned her to the toilet in order to remove them completely. Emma almost called Jane back in to help when she tried to get Regina into the bathtub, but after some hefting and maneuvering, her weak lover sat in the middle of the tub with her knees pulled to her chest and arms around her shins.

Emma slid into the water behind her, wincing when the warmth bit at her aching body before relaxing the abused muscles. She reached for the body wash but stopped when Regina collapsed into her without warning. She turned on her side between Emma's knees and laid the uninjured side of her head on Emma's chest. Emma leaned back and wrapped her arms around Regina's back and waist.

"I've got you, Baby. You're safe now. I believed in us," Emma whispered. "I looked for you so hard. I felt you." She pressed a kiss to Regina's forehead.

Regina said nothing but pressed her hand to Emma's chest above her heart. It was enough. She'd brought her home.


	14. Please Leave

Thank you, My Doves, for all of your wonderful reviews!

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Unconditionally by Katy Perry.

* * *

"Regina?" Emma knocked on the bedroom door as she cracked it open.

After their bath, she'd put Regina to bed, dressing her in a pair of her baggy basketball shorts and her old AC/DC shirt she knew Regina secretly loved wearing. After Maura cleaned and dressed her head wound and checked her blood pressure and about ten other little things that she wouldn't have thought to do, Emma crawled into bed behind her. A harsh slap of rejection stung her heart when Regina asked her to leave her alone, but she removed herself from the room and shut the door. It wasn't more than two minutes ago.

"Baby, I know you want to be alone, but Ruby is on the phone. I thought maybe you'd like to say hi to her?" Emma scrubbed one sweaty palm on her thigh and clutched the phone with the other.

She moved to Regina's sightline, but her lover remained unresponsive. She laid on her side, facing the bathroom with distant eyes. Emma blinked away her tears and set the phone on the pillow by Regina's mouth, switching the settings to speaker phone.

"Rubes, you're on speaker," Emma informed the wolf, squeezed Regina's shoulder and left the room as Ruby's strained and tear-filled voice softly broke the silence.

Her back fell into the door heavily as her legs gave out from beneath her. Belle ran to her side immediately, knees hitting the floor painfully. She gave herself to the librarian's soft body as sobs shook and quivered. She forced them out in silent gasps, not wanting Regina to hear her anguish through the door. After a few minutes, she calmed and allowed Belle to pull her to her feet and guide her to the living room where Jane and Maura waited patiently.

The doctor's head rested on the detective's chest, and Jane rubbed the arm around her waist slowly. They weren't that close with Emma and Regina, but they liked the women and knew from personal experience what they now felt. It drove them closer together and urged them to stay for moral support if nothing else until asked to leave. Maura stirred from her lover's arms when Emma slumped onto the couch and leaned forward on her elbows.

"I'll make you some tea, Emma. Should I make a cup for Regina as well?" Belle touched the crown of blonde hair with gentle fingertips. Emma nodded, and Belle replaced her fingers with her lips before clicking towards the kitchen in her blue pumps.

"Emma, let me dress your wounds," Maura requested in her soft, calming voice. She sat on the coffee table in front of the distant blonde and quietly cleaned first her neck and then made butterfly stitches for the gash on her shoulder. It probably should have been stitched, but every woman in the room knew getting Emma to leave this house without Regina would be like knocking the moon from it's orbit.

"Jane, are they going to the farmhouse?" Emma asked suddenly and straightened to give Maura access to her bruised ribs.

"They're already there," Jane answered honestly. Emma hadn't said what went down at the house yet, but she knew it was bad.

"I killed at least two people and gave the other a massive head injury. She probably bled out. I'm going to jail, aren't I?" Emma confessed, meeting Jane's eyes. She winced and glared down at Maura when a twinge jerked in her ribs.

"I think your ribs are cracked," she said matter-of-factly, unbothered by Emma's harsh gaze.

"I don't know what's going to happen, Emma. The circumstances of your situation are extraordinary to say the least. Were any of them armed?" Rizzoli asked, her cop running at full throttle.

"Armed? No. Except Mendell, kind of. He had Regina hooked up to a machine and was trying to turn it on when I shot him. She wouldn't have survived much longer." Emma's gaze dropped to the table as the reality of what she'd done crashed into her.

"I've never killed anyone before." Her voice was hollow disbelief, and Jane softened, remembering her first time taking a life.

"You'll be fine, Swan," she started. "You're going to go a little nuts at first, but you'll be okay. The fact that you feel bad about it now is what's going to save you. You're going to realize that you're still a good person even if you are capable of taking another life." Jane explained the process succinctly, and Emma almost felt better.

Belle returned and sat a cup of tea beside Maura's thigh on the dark wooden coffee table. She met Emma's eyes, and something unspoken passed between them. Belle had killed before, but the secret of other realms and magic froze her tongue before she said anything.

"She's talking to Ruby if that helps,' she said instead and squeezed Emma's shoulder as she sat beside her on the sofa.

"Emma," Maura started seriously and wrung her hands in her lap. "I really must insist Regina be taken to a hospital. She's been starved and traumatized. She's severely dehydrated. Any of several dozen internal processes can be disrupted and damaged if nutrients are reintroduced improperly. It's called Refeeding Syndrome and causes anything from severe cognitive disorientation to hypophosphatemia to pulmonary, cardiac, or neurological complications. My professional opinion is that she should be under constant professional supervision." she explained, completely unaware of how pompous she sounded as Maura Isles often did.

"Hypo what? Refeeding Syndrome? That's the thing a lot of World War Two vets died from after they got out of the P.O.W camps, right?" Emma scrubbed her hand over her face, completely unprepared for this conversation.

"Hypophosphatemia," Belle said, saving Emma from the awkward doctor. "It's an electrolyte disorder. I know the warning signs. It is most often found in this country in the early stages of treatment for Anorexia Nervosa. It's treatable if diagnosed in the early stages and avoidable if the proper amount of nutrients are introduced at the appropriate intervals.

"I'll go to the store later and buy a couple gallons of whole milk. According to the articles I've read, milk is the best choice because it's naturally high in phosphates and protein. I'll also pick up a bottle of Vitamin B complex and thiamine to add to Regina's normal multivitamin that I saw in the bathroom. After a day or two of milk, I'll introduce chicken broth into her diet as well.

"She essentially requires the care of an infant right now, Emma. She must stay as warm as possible for at least the next week and be given milk and sugar water to raise her glucose levels every couple of hours. Dr. Isles is correct in her assessment that she should be taken to a facility where she can receive around the clock supervision, but this task is not impossible if you are set on doing it yourself. I'll stay, of course, as long as you need me." Belle finished her explanation with sip of her tea, completely oblivious to the three shocked faces staring at her.

"Henry was right when he said you knew everything," Jane broke the silence. Belle blushed and hid behind her tea, blue eyes averted from the other women. She hadn't meant to sprint off on a tangent, but the kind doctor obviously hadn't known Emma long enough to understand how to explain things she didn't understand to her. Emma's frustration was evident in her demeanor.

"Everything you said is correct. Are you a medical doctor, Miss French?" Maura asked, curiosity peaked. Belle shook her head.

"I'm a librarian," she said, pride shining in her eyes and voice. She had no desire to be more, just as she had no desire for Ruby to be more than a waitress and inherit her grandmother's diner that she adored so very much. She straightened her spine and crossed her legs primly, and Emma felt as though Princess Belle just made an appearance.

"The library I run was given to me by Regina as her final act as mayor before she resigned. As long as she desires to remain in this house, no one will force her to leave it unless a serious problem arises." Belle sipped her tea daintily, blue eyes searing sweetly into Maura's hazel. Damn all the royalty in her family and their uncanny ability to make you fall in love with them even as they devour a piece of your soul.

Doctor and Detective shifted uncomfortably at the sudden belt of tension snapping around them. Belle French was not to be trifled with in the best of circumstances, and this was not even close to that.

"Of course. I wasn't implying…" Maura started, and Belle clicked her tongue.

"That's exactly what you implied, Doctor. You've pompously presumed us to be ignorant of exactly how long and intense Regina's recovery will be because we haven't obtained a medical degree. Emma may be acting on emotional instinct, but believe me when I say that while Regina Mills is part of my family, she is not my friend, which is why I am here instead of my partner. I will not allow her recovery to suffer because we hadn't the proper treatment knowledge to care for her. Excuse me." Belle stood and left the living room in a flurry of pissed off princess. Emma stared after her.

What the hell just happened?

"Emma, I'm sorry if you interpreted what I said in such a way. I never meant to insult your intelligence or your understanding of the situation," Maura apologized, clearly upset by Belle's smack down.

"I didn't take it that way, Maura. Belle's been on edge as much as me. I'm sorry she took it out on you. Maybe you two should head out before you get bashed again for something you didn't do," Emma said and touched Maura's arm. She truly liked the new couple who were becoming her friends.

"It's alright, Emma. I can't imagine what you and your family are feeling right now. Please, let us know if we can assist in any way. I'm happy to drive out from Boston tomorrow morning and check Regina's head wound." Maura accepted the hug Emma offered awkwardly and stepped into Jane's side.

"That would be…" Emma ran her fingers through her hair as a swell of emotion stole her words. "That would be great, Maura. Do you want some gas money or breakfast or lunch?" Emma asked, completely freaked out by the kind offer.

"No, I'm happy to do it," Maura replied. Jane shook Emma's hand and ushered her partner out the door with a gentle arm around her back.

Emma waited until she heard their car starting before taking a deep steadying breath and moved through the house in search of Belle. She heard the banging of pots or skillets before she ever entered the kitchen and ran her fingers through her hair. The clangs fell silent for an extended moment, so Emma peeked around the doorway. Belle stood at the sink, hands spread wide and gripping the lip of the counter in a white-knuckle grasp. Steam billowed up from the sink, and Emma assumed she thawed some type of meat for dinner.

"Belle?" No response. "Hey, what the hell just happened?" Emma asked quietly, almost relieved that she wasn't the only person losing their shit right now. A strangled, choking gasp of a sob vibrated in the librarian's chest and throat when Emma touched her shoulder blade.

"I care for her," she whispered, the words almost lost in emotion and her thick accent. "She is my friend. I thought I was upset because Ruby was upset and how much it would hurt Ruby if Regina died. It would have broken her. But that's not the whole reason." She fell silent when her chin quivered too violently for her to continue.

Emma rubbed her back lightly and waited, quite sure Belle would have retreated into her own mind if she tried to comfort her further. She paused so long that Emma felt certain the chicken had cooked under the hot spray, and Belle had finished speaking. Still she waited.

"I love my rapist," Belle whined. "I think I even like her. She's funny and brilliant and a good mother and a good friend." Belle's head lifted towards the ceiling as the weight of her confession smacked her in the chest, inspiring tears that refused to be controlled.

Emma bowed hers, unable to watch the struggle any longer. Nothing she said would have made any of this situation easier for Belle so she remained silent, connecting them with the firm hand brushing tight back muscles in comfort. She was hours from her true love, a woman who was also her best friend and main source of support. Her heart rested within another being, literally, which left a void, even if she felt Ruby's essence moving within her. And to top everything off, she felt strong positive emotions for someone who had literally tortured her more years than her actual physical age.

"I went to Rumpel's shop that morning to confront him about what he had done when I was Lacey. I've been struggling with that since I recovered my memories. It seems like every time he touches my life, I'm left with years of pain and trauma. I loved him once. I would have gladly given him a child, but… not like that." She babbled, her voice devoid of emotion. Emma wasn't even certain she knew what she was confessing.

"A child?" She said in surprise before her mind caught up with her mouth.

"It's gone now," she admitted quietly. "Ruby and I… _I_ decided that I couldn't have his child, not now, not after… what he did while I was Lacey was no better than what The Evil Queen did when I was held captive. That combined with everything else that happened was too much.

"Ruby had only just been released from the hospital after the whole Cora ordeal. She was far more damaged than anyone could have anticipated. She's only recently divulged the entire truth about what happened when Cora had her heart. And I mean recently as in this happened after you went off on her. She held it inside all that time. I suppose she spoke with Regina about it, but I didn't know because I wasn't really me at the time.

"I was traumatized from what he did and what I knew he would have done had he known about the baby. He knew how to cross the line without losing his memories. There was nothing to stop him from taking the child and leaving Storybrooke forever. Not even Ruby's wolf strength could have stood up to his magic." She laughed hauntingly and slowly turned to face Emma.

"I keep telling myself it was for the best. It doesn't feel that way now," she admitted hollowly. Emma breathed.

"It won't go away," she said suddenly. "As someone who also gave up a child, I need to tell you that. It won't go away. You will carry that the rest of your life. I never expected to see my son again, but I always thought about him, wondered if some little boy I passed on the street who didn't quite look like his parents could have been him. It fades with time, but it never goes away. Not even now that he's back in my life. I still feel it." She swallowed her tears as she saw something spread in Belle's eyes. It wasn't quite comfort, but she understood that she wasn't alone with this burden.

"Logically, you made the right choice for all the reasons you just said, but your heart will never feel that way. I'm so sorry you have to feel this way, Belle. I'm here for you. You and Ruby are my best friends, my family. There is no judgment with me, so if you ever need an empathetic ear, I'm here." Emma leaned back and searched the short woman's eyes.

"Thank you, Emma," Belle whispered around a sob and allowed The Savior to pull her into an embrace.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Emma's toned, yet surprisingly feminine, waist and rested her head on her uninjured shoulder. No more words were necessary. They understood each other, the pain and sacrifice for the love of a child. They stood in the comfortable embrace, soaking up the tendrils of love and friendship each offered.

The steam wafting up from the sink billowed and swirled towards the dining room as the air pressure changed in the kitchen, followed by a soft thump. Henry had just arrived home from school.

"Emma? Belle?" His muffled voice called from the foyer, and Emma released the smaller woman.

"In the kitchen, Henry," Bella called when Emma floundered. She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or jump for joy that she finally got to tell their son that his mother had come home.

The boy must have felt the change of energy in the house because his face was solemn and searching when he entered the kitchen. Emma dropped to her knees and pulled his back pack from his shoulders and then pulled him against her chest for a long hug. She brushed his shaggy locks from his eyes, making a note to get him a haircut soon. He missed his last appointment while she searched for Regina.

"Kid… Henry," she started and gripped his shoulders. "She's home. I found her." She said, unable to stop the tears from dripping onto her cheeks. She held him in place when he jerked and tried to run from the kitchen.

"Hey, listen to me. She's hurt real bad. So be gentle and quiet. Let me go see if she's sleeping, okay?" He nodded, and she kissed his head as she stood.

"Can I still see her if she's sleeping?" He asked up at her and took her hand as they walked through the dining room.

"Yeah, for a minute," she conceded, understanding his need to confirm her presence with his own eyes.

She left him outside the door and slipped into their bedroom. Regina was still on her side in the same position as before, but her eyes had closed sometime between now and then. The mug of tea Belle brought her sat empty on the nightstand. Emma stepped into the room further and focused on Regina's chest, checking for signs of breath. She froze when Regina's eyes jerked open and searched the room wildly when she heard Emma's rustling footsteps. Green and brown locked in an awkward gaze. Regina averted her eyes first and resumed staring towards the bathroom.

"I'm sorry that I keep bothering you," Emma started and crossed her arms over her chest. A worried though nagged in the back of her mind that Regina truly wanted her to leave her alone for good. She spoke with Ruby, and Belle came and went freely without incident. Only her presence caused such deadened or volatile reactions.

"Henry's home from school. Do you feel up to a visitor?" Emma pushed forward, slinging her own pain and dejection into a box in the back of her mind and slamming the lid.

"Henry," Regina whined. Brown eyes slipped shut as she nodded her consent.

Emma bowed her head from the sight and returned to the door. She nodded when Henry looked up at her expectantly. Another warning to be gentle was pointless. He understood the graveness of the situation, knew that whatever his mother had endured had been painful and had probably left her broken and forever changed.

"Mom," he whispered. Regina smiled for the first time since being rescued. Henry pressed a kiss to her cheek and then fell to his knees beside the bed and pressed his face into her chest as heavy sobs racked his tiny body.

Emma bit her lip and closed her eyes as her own sobs threatened to ruin the moment. She wrapped her arms around herself and clung tightly as the cleansing liquid dripped off her chin and onto her chest. Regina spared a glance to her fiancée and wrapped one hand around Henry's hair, holding him in the only way she had strength to do so. She waited for the flood of compassion and protectiveness and an overwhelming need to touch her lover that usually came when she saw Emma cry. It never came, so she dropped her gaze and waited for her son to recover.

"I'm sorry I stopped believing, Mom," he slurred around his tears. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand as he pulled back and met his mother's eyes.

"Emma never stopped believing, not for one second. She told us all that you were alive. She never stopped looking." He said excitedly, and Regina's heart dropped into her stomach.

She hadn't stopped believing, not even after she'd taken down her maps and put away her files. Her heart told her that Regina still lived despite not being able to feel her anymore, but she had reluctantly halted her search in order to care for their son, like Regina's message had begged her to do. She knew Regina was meant to come back to them. That couldn't have been the end of their story.

"Henry, I'm tired, Sweetheart," Regina said, her voice clearly overwhelmed with the emotions floating around inside of her. "Come see me before bedtime?" She asked.

He nodded, kissed her cheek again and then left the room. Emma studied Regina's tear-trekked face. She wanted to go to her, hold her, kiss her, comfort her, but she stood planted and frozen at the door. Her arms tightened around her waist, reminding her of her injured ribs.

"Regina," she started, unsure of what she wanted to say, but her heart needed to feel something besides despair. "Baby," she tried again and took one step towards the love of her life.

"Please leave, Emma." Regina's deep voice rasped, hollow and devoid of any emotion.

Emma gasped as the weight of her tone and words knocked the air out of her chest, and Regina tried to feel guilty about hurting the woman she once loved. She didn't, and Emma's presence reminded her of the hollow ache in her chest where true love had once resided. It was too much to bear when combined with everything else about this situation. After she slept and regained some of her strength, she vowed to herself that she'd try to love Emma again or at the very least tolerate her presence, but right now, it hurt too much.

Emma's chin dropped to her chest as she took a steadying breath and then complied to Regina's request. She wasn't imagining things. Regina wanted her to stay away from her. Emma leaned against the door as the reality of her situation crashed over her. She'd brought her home physically, but the woman laying in their bed, wearing Regina's body and speaking with Regina's deep scratchy voice, wasn't the same woman she'd given her heart.


	15. Feel You Again

Thanks for all the reviews, My Sweets. This was a particularly difficult chapter. Lots of sobbing and cigarettes on my end. I hope you love it as much as I do, though. I think I could get used to this hurt/comfort stuff as well as my normal angst.

Enjoy!

Songs: Iris by Goo Goo Dolls

* * *

Emma brought Regina home on a Friday, and by the time Henry left for school on Monday, the first day of his last week, Emma refused to enter the bedroom she'd once shared with Regina. Dutifully, she rose in the middle of the night to prepare warm milk and room temperature sugar water and then woke Belle to carry it to her. She stood outside the door and fidgeted until Belle returned with either a nod or a shake of her head confirming whether Regina had asked about her or not. She always shook her head.

Emma watched Henry race towards the bus with the other kids. They kept her little ritual of racing when they reached their house since it was the last house before the bus stop. She smiled despite her exhaustion and anguish. She missed Regina more now than she ever had when she'd been missing. Her heart crumbled in her chest, and there wasn't a thing that could have stopped it short of Regina's kiss. She was so confused. Regina had been so receptive when she'd found her, and the moment they shared in Neal's car at the convenience store parking lot instilled a quickly dying hope.

Regina asked her to tell her that she loved her. She collapsed in her arms in the bathtub that day. Cried in her arms. She's the one with a chopped up shoulder and aching fractured ribs. She's the one who went through the pain and torture of believing in the life of a woman who should been dead. She'd never dream of indebting Regina because she'd never given up and had been knocked around saving her life, but none of Regina's behavior since then made any sense.

"Hey Emma," Felicia called from the fence. Emma sighed walked the few short steps to her neighbor's driveway.

"Hey Felicia," she said as she came to a stop in front of her and shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

"How's Regina?" She asked cautiously. Emma shrugged honestly. She really didn't know. She hadn't seen her in over 24 hours.

"She's breathing. Maybe that's the best we can hope for right now," Emma answered, not really wanting to go into Regina's treatment of her with anyone just yet. Not even Belle broached the subject.

"How are you?" The redhead pushed forward.

"I'm…" Emma started, stopped, ran a shaking hand through her hair. "I'm breathing," she repeated the same answer she'd given about Regina.

"Emma, Danny and I are here if you need anything. I know Belle is helping out, but please know that she isn't your only friend in Salem. Emily also asked me to pass on the same message when I saw you and asked if you'd come by and see Caley if you felt up to it. I mean it." she emphasized her words with a warm but firm hand on Emma's uninjured shoulder. Her other one really should have been stitched.

"If you need us to make dinners or get groceries or look after Henry or just come sit on the porch in silence, we're here for you. You're an extraordinary woman, Emma Swan, and I will never doubt your word again. You brought her home." Felicia finished with a quiver of her chin. She hadn't been to see Regina yet, but her friend had been the only thought on her mind in the past 72 hours.

"Thank you," Emma said sincerely, not having expected the intense sentiment, not just to help out but for her as a person.

Felicia jerked in surprise when Emma pulled her into a hug. Emma's hands were confident, her arms strong, and she smelled like vanilla lotion and strawberry shampoo. Felicia melted into the embrace before she thought about her actions. Hugging Emma Swan was about as impressive as watching her take down a man twice her size. No wonder Regina was addicted to the feeling of being in Emma's arms. She didn't just hug you, she completely wrapped herself around you, every single sense, except maybe taste… which Regina obviously had privilege to.

Emma stepped back and squeezed her shoulders before releasing her completely. "There is something you can do for me," Emma said as she returned her hands to her back pockets.

"Belle is an okay cook, but she's hopeless when it comes to baking. She's set the fire alarms off twice, and she's only tried to make cookies once," Emma explained, her request obvious.

"I'll bring them over before they cool," Felicia said quickly. "Chocolate chip, right?"

"Belle likes oatmeal raisin if it wouldn't be too much trouble to make both." Her gaze dropped when she felt like she asked too much of her kind neighbor, and Felicia touched her bicep, drawing her attention back to her face.

"It's no trouble, Emma. It's the least I can do for you right now. I wish I could do more, but if cookies make it just a little bit better, then cookies you shall have." Felicia smiled, her tone lighter than her heart felt. Emma blinked rapidly and swallowed.

"Thanks," Emma answered. They stood in a comfortable silence, each lost in her respective thoughts. Emma's green eyes turned towards her front door when it opened.

"Emma," Belle said excitedly and ran to the railing, not bothering to close her robe or put on her slippers. Belle never came out of the house, not even on the porch without something covering her feet.

"Regina's asking for you," she blurted, uncaring of Felicia's confused gaze.

Emma offered no parting words as she took off like a shot towards the house. Her ribs shouted at her, and she shouted back, telling them to shut the hell up. She stumbled into their bedroom flushed and breathless, and Regina gasped, startled by the sudden appearance of her fiancée.

She leaned against the a mountain of pillows against the headboard. Her natural olive tone had returned, though her cheeks still sunk and stretched against her cheek bones. Her beautiful brown eyes were tortured but not distant, not like they had been. Regina was there with her, seeing her. Emma hovered by the door, satisfied just to see Regina again even if she refused her touch.

"Belle said you wanted to see me," she explained her abrupt entrance and pulled at her fingers, unsure what to do with her hands.

"Come sit?" Regina asked, clearly as nervous as she was. Emma complied, but stayed at the edge of the bed and just out of Regina's reach.

"How are you feeling?" Emma said after an awkward moment.

"Hungry as hell," Regina said, her voice smooth and confident as ever. "Belle has been quite rigid about my diet, however. I suppose she's done the research, and extreme hunger can be normal in the early stages of… what does she keep calling it?" Regina waved her hand at a loss. She tuned out Belle's rambling half the time.

"Refeeding," Emma supplied, and Regina nodded. "Well, this should make you happy then. She told me that she's adding chicken broth today. She's boiling a bunch on the stove right now. I guess we're having chicken all week," Emma laughed, her heart swelling as she and Regina fell into the familiar banter.

"I'm not sure I'll ever enjoy milk again, and I've had enough sugar water to feed an army of hummingbirds for an entire winter." Her eyes hardened though the words were meant to be light, and Emma's face fell. Their moment of contentment had come to a close.

"Emma," Regina started. Her voice broke, and she cleared her throat and dropped her eyes to her lap.

"I'd like another bath," she admitted quietly. Emma finally understood her purpose. Regina refused to ask Belle to help her bathe, figuring the gesture far too intimate and taking too much advantage of Belle's kindness. The librarian would have done it if asked. They both knew that.

"Okay," Emma said, ignoring the slice of pain in her chest. She contented herself with simply being needed.

"Emma," Regina caught her attention before leaning forward and touching her arm. "It's good to see you," she whispered, happy to find that she meant the words.

Her love may have been ripped away from her, but she still respected and trusted Emma. She was the reason she had Henry, the reason she still breathed. She owed Emma, even if she might never have loved her again. The hollowness in her chest twitched, and she pulled away. It wasn't nearly enough, but as Emma's bright green eyes shimmered with unshed tears of joy, she knew that in some way it was. They would move forward from this. She still intended to marry Emma, give her a family and prayed that one day her heart swelled once more with love for her blonde counterpart.

"It's good to see you, too," Emma answered, her soul feeling a little lighter. She sniffed and straightened her spine.

"Do you want to go now or…?" She asked, suddenly nervous. Regina nodded.

Emma stood without waiting for a vocal response and disappeared into the bathroom. Water splashed against porcelain a moment later, and Regina's head fell back against the headboard. A part of her hoped that Emma's love had been obliterated when Neal's machine sucked hers away, but that clearly wasn't the case. It radiated off the other woman in intoxicating waves that almost deceived her into believing that her own had returned, but she reminded herself that it was impossible. She yearned to love Emma again, to feel that familiar swell of affection and arousal and desire when she looked into her bright green eyes, but it wasn't there no matter how much Emma's contagious emotions made her want it to be.

She blinked back tears when Emma reentered the bedroom, shaking out wet hands. Regina shivered when Emma peeled away the comforter from her chest. She never felt warm anymore and the sudden release of the modicum of heat she managed to trap beneath the blanket was almost painful.

"Do you think you can walk?" Emma said, and Regina nodded.

"With assistance. Miss French manages to get me back and forth, so should you." Emma nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer.

She wrapped her arm around Emma's shoulder and allowed her weight to be pulled from the bed. Emma winced, and Regina froze.

"Are you still injured?" She blurted. Stupid Emma. She could have asked Belle to walk her to bathroom.

Emma ignored the question and urged her forward with a firm hand around her waist. The pace was painfully slow and twice Regina faltered and leaned all of her weight into Emma's side. She puffed by the time they reached their goal, and Emma held her tightly and waited. Regina pushed the loose shorts down her thighs with one hand and then lowered herself to the toilet.

"I'd prefer you not be here for this part," Regina said with a sardonic clip in her voice as she released Emma's shoulder. Again, Emma remained silent and left the bathroom with a soft click of the door.

Regina kicked off the shorts and removed Emma's worn and comfortable black t-shirt. She touched the faded band logo with light fingertips and then flung the shirt into the wall. She tortured herself with thoughts of what she'd lost and decided in that moment to stop. This was her life now. She was clearly destined for loveless marriages and a partially empty and hardened heart. Wallowing in self-pity only exacerbated the situation for her as well as Emma.

She wiped, flushed, sighed. Emma returned the moment the toilet flushed, nearly tripping on her own feet when her eyes took in Regina's state of undress. She recovered an instant later and reached for Regina, grateful that her second bath was much easier than the first since she wasn't dead weight in Emma's arms this time. The warmth of the water surrounded her, and she breathed in deeply, allowing the cleansing and scented steam to soothe her. She relaxed against the back and closed her eyes for one relieved moment before jumping at the sudden noise bouncing off the porcelain tiles.

The lid of the toilet snapped shut, and Emma slumped onto it, elbows on her knees. She valiantly attempted to avert her gaze from Regina's body but failed miserably. It wasn't a sexual stare; that was the last thing on her mind, but she simply desired to watch her lover as she once had. They loved being in the tub together. On the rare days without Henry or if he'd gone to bed early, they lounged in the tub for hours. Regina always leaned into her chest as Emma held a book above the water and read to her. It was bliss, pure unadulterated bliss.

"Emma," Regina's gravelly voice caught her attention, and green eyes found brown. "Don't watch me," she ordered.

Emma dropped her head between her shoulders, and Regina knew that her thoughts had also drifted to their time spent in that very tub wrapped around each other in a comfortable embrace. They loved being naked and pressed against each other, even when it wasn't sexual. It was the closeness of not being separate by anything that they yearned for the most, not necessarily the sexual release, though that had always been wonderful and mind-blowing.

"I'm sorry," Emma apologized. They still had no clue what Regina had endured aside from starvation, and they all fumbled with how to act and react to the woman.

"It's okay. Will you hand me the shampoo and conditioner?"

Emma complied silently but instead of returning to her perch, she knelt beside the tub facing Regina, one leg tucked beneath her and the other pulled up to her chest. Her chin rested on her knee, and her gaze stayed dutifully pointed at the wall. She hugged her bent leg and somehow pushed herself back together.

"I could read to you if you want to soak for a while," she offered, eyes flicking to Regina's before immediately returning to the wall. "I haven't read Jane Austen to you in a while. I could, if you wanted. Make the funny well-to-do lady voices that always make you laugh. Or I can start you off on that book series Belle loaned me, The Sword of Truth. It's pretty good, but it's too mature for Henry. Maybe in a couple years." Emma babbled.

Regina knew she feared her rejection, still knew how to recognize the deep insecurity in Emma's words and gestures. She desperately wanted to say yes, but her heart clenched at the mere memory of Emma spending hours reading to her and constantly changing her voice with each character. Her favorite was perhaps when she made Mr. Darcy into a blatantly stereotypical gay man, complete with hand gestures and added modern-day interjections to his dialogue. The hole in her soul twitched painfully, and Regina clutched at her chest above her heart.

"Please leave, Emma," Regina said quietly, softly. It was a plea, not a demand. Tears spilled onto her cheeks and dripped into the water almost immediately from the strength of the steady stream.

"I'll be finished in ten minutes," Regina strained around the tightness in her throat.

She bit her lip and closed her eyes when Emma's forehead dropped to her knee, and a high-pitched gasp pulled from her throat as liquid also spilled from green eyes in a similar torrent as Regina's. Emma's body propelled away from the tub, nearly slamming into the open door before she righted her equilibrium and stumbled from the room. Regina propped her elbow on the edge of the tub and covered her eyes with her hand.

The oddest sensation jerked in her heart. She felt guilty and ashamed for hurting Emma with no clear emotional reason why aside from the fact that she used to love her. It reminded her of a childhood memory. She'd climbed a tree to look at a bird's nest and accidentally knocked it down from the branch. When she dropped to the ground and saw that all of the eggs had been destroyed, her heart filled with remorse, but she hadn't understood the emotion because she'd never felt it before.

This felt exactly the same way. Her soul knew it to be the proper reaction to the situation, but her heart remained devoid of the opposing emotion. She should have felt guilty because she cared for Emma and would never have dreamed of treating her in such a way. Her loved was gone, but that didn't stop her heart from reacting as if it remained.

Emma breezed past a very confused Belle in the kitchen. The walls vibrated with the slamming of the backdoor. She registered the metal softball bat that lived in their shed the moment it flew through the air and collided with the hood of Neal's car. A satisfying rush of adrenaline burned in her veins, and she repeated the action. The headlights came next and then the windshield. Her rage grew with each swing, building up to the inevitable fall out of emotional brokenness when the wrathful surge abandoned her.

Belle stood in the middle of the driveway, wrapped her arms around her waist and waited. Felicia also flew out of her front door at the sudden cacophony of metal against metal and busting glass. She breathed a sigh of relief when the image of Emma Swan beating the shit out of the old car registered in her mind. She had finally broken and released the rage and grief and every other emotion on the spectrum from the past two weeks. Belle glanced first at Felicia and then further down the sidewalk to Emily as the two women joined her on the driveway.

Cries of anguish and rage harmonized with the symphony of clashing of metal. The bat connected slower and slower each time as Emma exhausted her arms as well as her rage, leaving only her grief. She stopped, stared at the car, gave one last scream as she brought the bat down with everything she had left. It clattered to the ground in a bent heap no longer usable for its intended purpose. Emma fell backwards onto the pavement, barely catching herself on her weakened and shaky arms.

Belle rushed forward when the broken and hollow sobs met her ears. She rounded the car as they quieted and discovered Emma rocking back and forth with her head in her hands. She mumbled something through the tears, but it was too muffled to make out until she knelt beside Emma and pulled the grieving woman into her arms.

"I will feel you again," Emma whispered over and over, clear as day now that her hands painfully gripped Belle's forearm across her chest. Felicia and Emily approached at a much slower and hesitant pace, unsure if their presence was needed much less wanted.

"Felicia, please go check on Regina. She's in the bath tub. I have no idea what happened." Belle looked up at the redhead whom Regina trusted and pleaded with her to help.

"Belle, I will feel her again," Emma said, confident conviction in her words despite the fact that she really had no clue what her voice and body were saying and doing.

"I will. I believe. I believe in her. I believe in us. I believe, Belle. I believe." She fell onto her butt as Emma collapsed into her chest. She held on tight and glanced helplessly at Felicia and Emily who watched with horror and grief-filled eyes.

"I just have to make her believe again. True love is the most powerful magic in the world. It transcends realms and curses and all other magic. She told me so. I just have to make her remember. I have to make her believe," Emma finished with a whimpering sob. She continued to mumble, but none of the women understood the incoherent ramblings.

"Felicia, please," Belle begged. The redhead nodded and somehow forced herself to look away from the heart wrenching scene taking place in the middle of the street.

Emma had reached her limit, and god help them all if she snapped completely. She hung by a thread as it was, and she'd not come back from it if Regina broke her heart on top of everything else that happened.

Emily stepped forward and pulled one of Emma's arms around her shoulder, stabilizing the limp and sobbing woman as Belle found her feet. Together, they hefted Emma and practically dragged her towards the house. She seemed to be at least semi-aware of what happened because, though she leaned on them heavily, she picked up her feet and dutifully climbed the stairs. She went limp again, however, when they deposited her onto the leather sofa nearest the door.

"Belle, where's the first aid kit? She tore open her shoulder," Emily pointed out. Belle said nothing, and Emma heard the taps of her pumps returning a few minutes later.

She searched for the pain that should have been radiating from her fractured ribs and bleeding shoulder, but nothing registered. She slowly acclimated to reality as Belle and Emily redressed her wound.

"I don't want to be here," she said as she sprang forward and stomped towards the door. "I can't be here, Belle. That couch is the first place we made love in this house."

"Emma, wait, we'll go to the kitchen," Belle stepped in front of her, hands up in a placating gesture.

"That was the second place, followed by the dining room table and then her office and my work out room. We didn't have a bed set up yet. It was the weekend we drove down to finalize the sale and buy furniture. I can't be here, not yet." Emma babbled, divulging way more information than Belle needed to know.

"Okay, where haven't you made love?" Belle asked and held her hand against Emma's shoulder, keeping her in place. Emma glanced around the house. Each piece of furniture or patch of carpet inspired a new memory.

"How about the back deck?" Belle said, and Emma shook her head.

"New patio furniture. I was so worried that Felicia would look over and see us. Made it last forever because I kept jumping at every sound." A smile urged the corners of her mouth upwards despite her obvious distress. Belle hated everything and longed for Ruby's touch. Emma and Regina deserved better than this.

"How about the front porch swing? Can we sit there?" Belle asked. Emma paused as though she hadn't considered that possibility and then nodded. Belle breathed in relief and glanced over her shoulder at Emily.

"Please. I need to go check on Regina," she begged the woman with her tone if not her words.

Emily nodded and led Emma back to the front door. Belle's hands settled on her hips as she took a moment to breathe. Emma deteriorated much faster now than when Regina had been missing. She hadn't a clue what Regina had said or done that caused such a volatile reaction, but she'd been fervently ignoring the blonde since her rescue. Belle had had enough. Emma snapped Ruby back to reality for her, and now she returned the favor.

She stomped to the bedroom and flung open the door. Regina and Felicia both gasped from the bed. Regina pulled the clean shirt over her stomach, gut clenching at the sight of a severely pissed off Belle French. Her wild hair moved slightly with the force of her heaving breath, face and neck flushed from adrenaline, and icy blue rage in her eyes.

"What the hell did you do?" She accused straight off the bat. Regina floundered, and Felicia sat a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Felicia, please give us a moment," Regina said up to her friend. Felicia's brow furrowed as she looked between the two women, unsure if Regina was safe when Belle was clearly so angry at her.

"I'll be fine," Regina comforted and patted her hand. Felicia took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'll make you and Emma some tea." And then she was gone with a click of the door latch.

"You may want to sit, Miss French," Regina warned and then scooted back to her fortress of pillows and pulled the blanket to her chest. She shivered slightly, Belle moved to the closet and snagged another blanket, draping it over Regina despite her emotional upheaval. She tucked one leg beneath her and sat at the edge of the bed, angry blue eyes searing into Regina's face.

"Neal and Mendell had a device used to extract magic," Regina started and stopped to shiver. Perhaps a bath hadn't been in her best interests.

"Since I wasn't in Storybrooke, it located and attacked the only magic found naturally in this realm," Regina continued around her chattering teeth. Belle gasped as realization finally dawned on her.

"True love?" Regina nodded. "They took your love?" Belle's hand pressed to her chest involuntarily, and her face clenched with emotion.

"Not all of it. I seem to have maintained the ability to love, Miss French, just not Emma. We had become connected in our souls. We achieved true love without the magic of sharing hearts. What you're feeling right now? Ruby's essence flowing constantly through your heart and soul?" Belle nodded. It felt wonderful and terrifying and comforting and arousing all at the same time, and while she longed to feel her own heart in her chest again, she never wanted Ruby's essence to leave it.

"That's how it felt without the hollowness of being without your heart," Regina finished with clenched teeth. It became obvious to Belle in that moment that Regina hurt far worst than Emma. At least Emma still loved her. Regina obviously rekindled that spark without success, like trying to burn wet, green wood. Belle shuddered and pressed her hand into her chest harder. Ruby.

"I trust you never to speak of this with Emma. She can never know," Regina warned. She sighed into the warmth that the hint of anger pulled through her veins and secured the blankets around her more tightly.

"Why?" Belle blurted. The only thing she desired to do right now was tell Emma so that they might have uncovered a way to get Regina's love back.

"It's gone, Belle. It's not coming back. My last hope is to rebuild it from scratch, but it hurts so much just being near her. I know what I used to feel when she does certain things or looks at me with that… reverence on her face." Her voice cracked, and a hand covered her eyes.

"I continue waiting for those emotions to surface. It's too much. I feel hollow, empty. Please, help her through this. Don't worry about me. I'll figure out how to fake them until I feel them again. I did it for years as The Evil Queen, and I can certainly do it for Emma Swan. I only ask that you keep her together until I am strong enough to handle the emptiness." Regina practically begged, and Belle's brow scrunched. Regina truly hadn't meant to hurt Emma. She dealt with something far more torturous than starvation.

"I'll stay quiet for now, but if she slips any further, I will tell her. Do you understand?" Regina nodded and turned onto her side facing towards the window and away from her.

Belle almost reached out to comfort the silently crying woman when a surge of compassion tore through her. She stopped, though, when she realized that Ruby had combined with her again. She may not have hated Regina and perhaps even loved her, but she refused to comfort her. That was beyond even her threshold for compassion and forgiveness.

She exited the room quietly and slipped into the kitchen to prepare Regina's broth and milk. Felicia nodded as she passed with Regina's tea. She dialed Ruby's number with shaking hands and pressed the phone to her ear as she braced herself on the counter. It was early, but she knew Ruby probably already had several customers ordering breakfast at the diner.

"Hey Babe," her perky voice and the murmur of the diner filtered into Belle's ear, and the librarian reacted with an actual shudder. She was so homesick that she fought every instinct in her body and heart that told her to jump into a vehicle and flee to Maine as quickly as possible.

"Hi Sweetheart," she responded quietly, deep emotion clear in her voice.

"Is everything okay? I've been feeling like a horse kicked me in the chest all morning," Ruby explained, clearly disconcerted by Belle's distress in her chest.

"No. Everything is not okay. Emma is having an emotional breakdown. Regina lost her love. And I just want to come home and hide in your arms for a week." She confided quietly. There was scratching and a yell from Granny for Ruby to return to the kitchen and then silence. Ruby must have gone to the backroom or the pantry.

"What do you mean Regina lost her love?" Ruby clipped once she found a quiet spot that gave her the liberty to speak freely.

"Regina told me that Neal and Mendell had some sort of machine that extracted magic from people. She wasn't in Storybrooke when they used it on her. They took her love, her true love. Remember the connection Emma told us about the day I left Storybrooke? That was their souls connecting, apparently. Regina confirmed it this morning. They created a true love bond, which is magical, even in the this world. They took it from her." Belle poured the entire explanation out and gave it over to her partner's confident and loving hands. She needn't have gone through it alone. She was slipping, too, and she needed Ruby's love and comfort to stay strong for Emma and Henry and Regina.

"Fuck," Ruby said. "Baby, I wish I could come to you. How long until Regina is strong enough to travel that far?" Ruby clutched at her chest, unknowingly mimicking Belle's exact gesture.

"I don't know. She can't walk ten feet to the bathroom by herself yet. I'm not even sure how she's walking at all. She really should have been hospitalized. A week at the earliest, to answer your question. Ruby," Belle whined as the sudden emotion of being away for at least another week tore at her soul.

"I want to come home," she confessed quietly and wiped at her tears. "I just want you in my arms again. I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you, probably exactly what Emma is doing right now. Lose my mind." Belle gave all of her fears to her lover and trusted Ruby to hold her upright.

"I love you, too, Baby. This whole situation sucks. They've gone through so much already. If anyone can make Regina believe in love again, it's Emma. Give them time. Maybe something will spark once Regina starts spending more time with her. I mean, there's got to be a reason why all of our greatest love stories end with a kiss, right?"

Ruby's voice sounded thick with emotion, and Belle knew that she hurt along side their friends. God, she wanted to go home, to Ruby, the only home she ever needed. They listened to each other breathe for a few minutes, and finally Belle took a deep breath.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted quietly, and Ruby sighed on the other end.

"In a minute, Granny!" She yelled, and her voice must have been emotional enough for the elder Lucas to back off.

"I don't know, Baby. Just love them. It's what you do best, remember? Redeem broken souls, love the unlovable. It's who you are. If anything can pull them through this mess, it's you. You can't fix it, so stop trying. Just be there for them. That's the best I got for this one. They'll learn to accept it somehow." Ruby gave her the advice she needed to hear. Stop fixing and just listen and love. Belle nodded.

"You should go before Granny takes to you with a wet towel again," she said with a slight smirk, her soul already feeling a little lighter.

"Yeah. Belle…you're the most important person in my life. You know that right?" Ruby swelled in her chest, and she clutched the spot her heart should have been.

"As you are in mine, Sweetheart. I love you," she said breathlessly. Her mind wondered to exactly what Ruby had done in order for the heady yet soothing pull of arousal to twinge so powerfully within her. Her cloak.

"Ruby Lucas, did you just take your cloak off?" It was the week before the full moon.

"Do you want me to put it back on?" Ruby asked, her voice straining under the emotional sparring match between her wolf and Belle's heart.

"If it's not hurting you, then no, I don't. I can feel you so much better without it. Just for a little while, and then you should put it back on. I know how much your wolf wears on your control. Is that okay?" Belle asked, not wanting more than Ruby could have given without distressing herself.

"How about I leave it off an hour? Is that enough time to get the situation under control?" Ruby asked, clearly in a considerable amount of discomfort.

"Yes. Thank you, Sweetheart. I love you." The soothing fingertips of Ruby's love and devotion for her slid in and out of her soul, weaving them together once more and leaving her with a sense of calm, peacefulness.

"I love you, too, Belle," Ruby said and then ended the call.

The petite librarian moved about the kitchen, lapping up every scrap of tenderness Ruby bestowed upon her from afar. It calmed and invigorated her at the same time, instilling a renewed determination to help Emma and Regina rediscover their love. Emma was right. Before her life ended, she was going to make Regina Mills fall in love with her all over again.

Losing this feeling once it was obtained naturally was too devastating a loss not to spend the rest of her life blowing on the embers of that flame. Emma Swan would feel her again.


	16. Just Believe

So, this is because I love you guys… and it's time to move this puppy forward.

Enjoy!

Songs: If Only (The Little Mermaid, Broadway musical) as performed by Sierra Boggess, Sean Palmer, Titus Burgess, and Norm Lewis; No Place That Far by Sara Evans; When You Say Nothing at all by Alison Krauss

* * *

Regina stirred and cracked her eyes when a weight dipped at the foot of the bed on the side nearest the window. It was gentle, barely there, as though her late night visitor hadn't wanted to wake her. If she hadn't been on edge since her time in captivity, she might have succeeded in remaining unseen and heard. The room was dark save the stream of pale moonlight pouring into the window. Her visitor had pulled back the curtains before she sat on the bed. Silver light glanced off a crown of pale yellow hair as the figure leaned forward, elbows on her knees and held a book between her knees in the pool of moonlight. Regina almost warned Emma that she'd woken up. She waited.

Emma opened the book and took a deep breath, and when she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper.

"_Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her._

"_She was the youngest of the two daughters of a most affectionate, indulgent father; and had, in consequence of her sister's marriage, been mistress of his house from a very early period. Her mother had died too long ago for her to have more than an indistinct remembrance of her caresses; and her place had been supplied by an excellent woman as governess, who had fallen little short of a mother in affection."_

"Emma," Regina whispered. Emma's shoulders shifted and coiled with tension, and her voice halted for only a moment before she took a deep breath and began reading again. Her voice grew in strength. It was slight, but it was there. Regina had heard her whispers so often in this very room that she knew ever single nuance of Emma's voice.

This voice told Regina that Emma needed her. This was the fourth night after the bath incident and the first time she'd seen Emma since that day. Whatever happened after Emma stumbled from the room scared Belle enough to confront her in a very angry way about her treatment of Emma. She vowed to do better when Emma came to her once more.

"_Sixteen years had Miss Taylor been in Mr. Woodhouse's family, less as a governess than a friend, very fond of both daughters, but particularly of Emma. Between them it was more the intimacy of sisters. Even before Miss Taylor had ceased…" _

"Emma," she tried again, tears evident in her voice. Emma faltered exactly one second.

"_Even before Miss Taylor had ceased to hold the nominal office of governess, the mildness of her temper had hardly allowed her to impose any restraint; and the shadow of authority being now long passed away, they had been living together as friend and friend very mutually attached, and Emma doing just what she liked; highly esteeming Miss Taylor's judgment, but directed chiefly by her own." _

"Emma," Regina's voice slid into her ear. She missed Regina's movement, hadn't realized she sat right behind her. Warm hands touched her shoulders, and the dam of barely contained tears she'd been fighting for the past few hours busted open. Her sobs were silent, the only indication of them in the shaking of her shoulders.

Regina waited, straining to feel any hint of her love for Emma to move within her. She gasped when something wiggled, flickered briefly and then fell dormant. It wasn't quite love but perhaps… compassion? Sympathy? It was merely a flash, but it was enough for Regina. She wasn't completely empty, and she gave this night to Emma, even though she knew her heart was most likely destined to break all over in the morning. She needed it as much as Emma, maybe more just to prove to herself that simulating a relationship with Emma wasn't impossible. A twinge of guilt pulled at her heart. Condemning Emma to a loveless marriage wasn't fair to either of them.

Guilt and compassion. Regina bowed her head and squeezed Emma's shoulders. It was a start.

"Come to bed," she breathed into golden hair and felt the body attached snap tight with tension.

"Are you going to… ask me to leave?" Emma choked brokenly. Regina clenched her jaw.

_I should. _She said silently. "Not tonight," her deep voice answered aloud. Emma breathed a gasp and bowed her head further as the weight of that statement settled onto her. She twisted on the bed, her intention of making eye contact clear, and Regina pressed her hands into her shoulders.

"Please, Emma. Please don't look at me," she pleaded, begged. She broke every time she looked into the depths of those soulful green eyes, and doing so now might have cracked her resolve to give Emma this night of comfort and closeness.

"Okay," Emma said with a nod, sensing the deep need in Regina's voice. It wasn't perfect, but at least she wasn't banished from the room. If staring at the wall was the price for remaining at Regina's side for the night, she paid it willingly, in full and up front.

Trembling hands guided her to lay down and tossed the book onto the floor, far from her reach. The gesture was a blatant hint to stop reading aloud. Emma's shoulder shouted and gave a twinge, and she winced.

"I can't lay on this side yet. My shoulder," she said quietly as she closed her eyes and rolled onto her back. "I won't look."

"You always slept better on your back anyway," Regina said absently as she studied Emma's face. It was tired and sunken. Emma had obviously not been eating properly or sleeping if the black blotches beneath her eyes indicated anything.

Regina waited for the surge of protectiveness that normally accompanied a moment like this, when Regina realized that Emma had been neglecting herself emotionally and physically in order to give someone else what they needed. If her love had moved within her, she would have immediately gone to the kitchen and prepared something for Emma, no matter how late. She'd made her cookies at three in the morning before and loved every second of it because they made Emma happy.

The feeling never came.

She rolled onto her side facing away from Emma. Their heat combined, and she sighed into the relief. It was the first time she actually felt warm since beginning to eat again. Belle promised to start her on something soft but solid tomorrow. Knowing Belle, she'd be eating fried potatoes and some sort of vegetable smoothie.

Breath caught silently in her throat when Emma's larger, cooler hand slid down her arm, pulling it over her hip and behind her back. Her hardened heart clenched and softened with something that felt familiar. It wasn't love, but it was comfortable. Trust. Respect. Kinship. All the things love that grew eventually into love, but there was no swell of that most powerful affection in her soul. Even without it, tears pooled onto her pillow when Emma laced their fingers together.

"Is this okay?" Emma asked in a small, terrified whisper.

"Yes," she breathed in return, overwhelmed by the simultaneous emptiness and swell of everything that should have been love but wasn't quite.

Silence beat into them. It wasn't uncomfortable necessarily, but it made them squirm. One with the need to get closer physically and the other with the burning and hollow desire to fall in love again with the woman she knew to be impossible to replace. Even if she fell in love with someone else, how could they ever have competed with what she shared with Emma? A person only experienced that once in a lifetime, and she'd nearly lived two before she found it.

Soft gasps broke the silence and slight quivers shook the bed as the strength of Regina's tears built. Emma squeezed her hand tightly, which only made them fall faster.

"Regina, I don't know what you're going through, but I'm not giving up on you, on us. I know you felt what I felt, and I will never stop believing in that. I'll never stop loving you or trying to bring you back to me." Emma's words were softly spoken, but the weight behind them slammed into two chests as if they'd been shouted.

Regina cried harder, and Emma's eyes hardened, surprising her when no tears burned her throat. She was done crying. Her big, beautiful heart swelled with determination, and a bracing stubbornness flowed into her veins. She returned Regina home physically, and now the unwavering strength that filled her when her essence combined with Regina's was required to bring her home emotionally.

Belle backed slowly away from the door, hoping nothing on the tray in her hands rattled or clanked. It would have destroyed the moment for Emma and Regina if her presence had been discovered. Though she knew she shouldn't, she allowed Regina's middle of the night meal to be replaced with something far more filling. She returned the milk and broth to the refrigerator and settled back onto the couch and her umpteenth marathon of _The Golden Girls_.

An uncontrollable smile spread onto her face, stretching and pulling muscles that hadn't been used in weeks. She snagged her phone and tapped out a text to Ruby and tossed an arm above her head as she sent it.

_You're right, Sweetheart. If anyone can bring back Regina's love, it's Emma. _

Giddy energy spread through her, and she knew Ruby had read the text. She touched her empty chest and sighed into the feeling.

_You're heart woke me up a few minutes ago with an uncontrollable desire to giggle. What happened? _

Belle smiled and wiggled further into the sofa and blankets. How could she explain what she'd seen and heard to Ruby without lessening the experience and moment?

_I think Emma made her start believing again. I just don't think she realizes it yet. I'll be home soon. Why aren't you running? It's the day before the full moon. _Belle asked, suddenly realizing that Ruby had been asleep and not in the woods as she should have been.

_I didn't know how it would make you feel or how it would affect your heart since it's in my chest. Wouldn't risk it hurting you. _Belle's cheeks ached as her smile tried to widen beyond its threshold

_I love you. _Belle responded in the only way she thought appropriate.

_Hold on. Can you feel me?_

The text blinked onto her phone a moment before she choked with sudden and overwhelming urges and emotions. It was strong and restless and burning. Belle gasped as a rush of liquid flooded between her thighs and her nipples hardened painfully against her cotton camisole. A gripping rage flowed and twined with the arousal tempered by the only thing stronger than anger: love.

It swelled and burst in her soul, and Belle shuddered. Her stomach muscles clenched and released in quick succession, and hips rolled against the ghost of her lover's touch. Her head tipped back, mouth open in shock when the small spasm between her legs shook her to the core. Was Ruby masturbating? She fumbled with the phone, but her fingers trembled too violently to ask her lover exactly what she had done hundreds of miles away to cause such a reaction.

As quickly as the feeling crashed into her, it receded, leaving a dull throb of arousal and a fluttering of emotion where her heart should have pounded. Belle forced deep pulls of air into her lungs and wiped the sheen of sweat from her forehead, resting her palm there as she came down from the incredible high Ruby had given her.

_I just took off my hood but didn't change. That's how you make me feel every single full moon. That's why I've had to wear it this past year. I'm sorry I never told you before, but there really isn't a way to explain it with words. _

Belle read and reread the text at least ten times before the entire meaning of the words filled her mind. If Ruby felt this way every wolf's time, then she'd felt this way the first time they'd made love in the back of Emma's cruiser. It was practically Belle's first time, and Ruby fought against the overwhelming desire and made it slow and special and wonderful for her. Tears of happiness pooled in her eyes, and she blinked them away. She was the luckiest and happiest librarian in this world - and every single other one for that matter.

No wonder Ruby felt out of control without her cloak.

_Belle? _Ruby's insecure text flashed onto the screen, and Belle took a steadying breath. Belle winced, not realizing how long her recovery took.

_You're incredible. _She answered, too emotional to think of anything more elaborate.

_You're not freaked out? _Belle smiled again. Ruby was so resilient and confident and impressive in every single way, but she was also so insecure and scared of judgment and misunderstanding when she gave into her wolf. Everything about her was a contradiction. The strongest part of her was also her biggest weakness, and Belle fell in love with her all over again.

_I'm honored that you shared that with me. You felt that way our first time?_

_I did. I was so scared of hurting or scaring you that day._

_When I return, we are going to explore this. You won't hurt me or scare me. I want to share this with you. All of it, with my heart in your chest. I want it all. Emma or Regina will simply have to put it back in next wolf's moon. I don't think I'll make it back for this one. I want to understand what you feel, and I've only just realized that I can't really do that without experiencing it for myself. There are no words adequate enough to explain what I just felt. _

_You're amazing. How did I get so lucky? _Belle smiled and settled into the warmth of her blankets on the insanely comfortable sofa that had been her bed for over three weeks.

_I'm the lucky one, Ruby Lucas. Now get some sleep. I love you._

_I love you, too, Baby. I'll see you soon._

The next morning brought a bigger surprise to the homesick librarian when she flounced into the kitchen to find Regina atop a stool at the island sipping chicken broth and warm milk. She grinned and held comment as she hip bumped a struggling Emma from the stove and claimed the spatula. Emma huffed in relief.

"God bless you, Belle French," she praised, hands clasped in front of her. She fled to her abandoned mug of coffee on the island and gulped the lukewarm liquid in two swallows.

"I have to go get Henry up. I'll be right back. Please tell me my son won't get food poisoning from those eggs I mutilated," she begged, only half-joking. Belle sighed deeply into the distinct and palpable energy change in the house this morning. It felt wonderful.

"He'll survive," Belle assured her. Emma flitted from the kitchen without further comment, apparently satisfied that she hadn't destroyed breakfast for her son.

"I'm glad to see you out of bed. Would you care for some scrambled eggs? Emma made far too many for Henry," Belle spoke lightly, voice neutral and open.

"Will they hurt my system?" Regina asked nervously. She desperately wanted actual food, but after nearly a week of Belle's grave warnings about the importance of nutrients and electrolytes and everything else she had babbled about, Regina felt a tug of anxiety now that the time had actually arrived.

"You'll be perfectly fine. Eggs are soft and easily digestible since they're mostly carbohydrates and protein. I'll make you a fruit and yogurt smoothie in a few hours. No vegetables as they are a bit more difficult to digest, but I shall release you from the constraints of sugar water if you handle the fruit without much difficulty. They have natural sugars that will maintain your glucose levels and give you some energy.

"Our main concern for the next week is overeating. You're still going to feel hungry most of the time, and eating too much can lead to the same complications of which I've already informed you. If you'll trust me, though, I'll guide you through it safely."

She spoke and finished breakfast without ever looking at Regina. She set a plate of eggs in front of her and handing her a fork. Finally, their gazes met, and Belle jerked back at the expression she found there.

"I do trust you," Regina confessed quietly and dropped her eyes to the small amount of scrambled eggs that made the plate seem too large. She cleared her throat and slowly set the fork on the counter beside the plate, so gently it didn't even clink against the marble.

"Miss French, I find that I am overcome with the urge to hug you. Would that be acceptable?" Regina murmured at the eggs. Belle jerked again, eyes narrowing at her former tormentor.

Wordlessly, Belle rounded the island with hesitant steps and cleared her throat to get Regina's attention when the other woman continued staring into her eggs. Brown eyes searched blue, now unsure of her request. She hadn't expected Belle to agree. She'd only hugged her once the night they restored her memories by putting Ruby's heart into Lacey's chest. This was different, so very very different.

"Regina, if you're going to hug me, do it quickly before I change my mind," Belle said down at her and held her arms out to emphasize her point.

When Regina moved towards her, she leaned over and hooked her arms around her ribs, forcing Regina's hands around her shoulders. She lightly touched the round of Belle's shoulder joints at first and then slid her hands over her shoulder blades when she realized that Belle hadn't immediately pulled away from her touch. Belle tightened her arms around her ribs, and Regina's hands pressed into her back as they adjusted to the new development in their relationship. Belle pulled away after a second of the added pressure of her hands and straightened her spine into a rigid line as she moved back to the stove.

"Eat," Belle ordered in a tight, strained voice. Regina obeyed, humming into the bland taste of the eggs. It was the most wonderful thing she'd ever placed on her tongue.

They said nothing else until Henry skittered into the kitchen. He blew past Regina and flung his arms around Belle who lovingly returned the embrace and then handed him his plate of food, much fuller than Regina's and with toast and sausage. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of the food, and she clamped her eyes shut and breathed deeply. When they opened, her son's happily shocked face filled her vision.

"Mom!" The plate barely made it to the island safely before he rounded it. She tensed, preparing for the full weight of bouncing 11-year-old to slam into her.

"Easy Kid," Emma's stern voice cut through her tension, and Regina relaxed as she refocused her eyes to her fiancée and their son.

Emma's hand grasped the back of his shirt, clearly having been the only thing preventing Henry from knocking her off the stool in his excitement to see her out of bed. She smiled her thanks to the blonde and opened her arms for Henry. Emma released him and nodded when he buried himself very gently into his mother's arms.

She observed the affection for only a moment until the twinge of pain moved in her heart, urging her further into the kitchen. Her fingers fixed another cup of coffee numbly and levered her body onto the counter on the other side of the kitchen from Regina. Her soul felt lighter after their small connection last night, and her body finally felt energized after resting beside the familiar warmth and scent of her partner for the first time in three weeks.

It was far from fixing whatever had been broken in Regina, but it was a start. The older woman still tensed when Emma's gaze lingered or her hand moved too close, but she hadn't run or sent her away yet. Emma accepted the small victory and waited patiently for Regina to come to her. She inhaled the plate of sausage, eggs and toast that Belle handed her and kept her eyes carefully pointed away from Regina.

The task of not looking at Regina was a lot harder than it sounded. She'd never realized before exactly how much time she spent silently observing the other woman until she consciously made the decision not to do what came to her as naturally and involuntarily as breathing.

An alarm sounded, and everyone began moving. Regina jerked at the sudden flurry of activity, not quite realizing what happened.

"It's the last day of school, Mom," Henry explained as he slipped into his backpack with Belle's help.

"Turkey and mayo on wheat. Carrots and an apple cut into slices. Made it all myself, Kid!" Emma informed him proudly as she pulled his lunch box from the fridge and tossed it to him.

Regina smiled at the interaction. In her absence, Emma had stepped up and taken over all parental responsibilities. Sure, Belle helped, but at least in the past week, she had focused almost all of her energy on Regina's recovery, which left Emma handling Henry. Her heart twitched, searching again for the surge of affection that should have been there but was conspicuously absent.

"Will you walk me to the bus today, Mom? Or come watch us race from the porch?" Henry asked, vibrating with the normalcy seeping back into his life. She smiled at her son.

"Of course, Sweetheart," she agreed, and brushed her hand over his unruly hair. When it grew out, it became curly and constantly tangled like Emma's.

He grinned toothily and ducked beneath her arm, his intentions of assisting her to the front porch clear. She held him tightly, not actually needing the support any longer but unwilling to dampen her son's spirits. She went as far as the middle of the driveway, completely uncaring that she wore one of Emma's baggy t-shirts and basketball shorts. Belle hovered at her elbow in case she faltered, and Emma settled into a standoff with Henry.

"Emma's racing today!" Caley shouted and sprinted down the street. Emma whirled in time to catch the girl's shoulder in her gut. Her eyes slammed shut and her mouth flew open at the pain reverberating across her ribs at the impact, but she swallowed it and returned the girl's hug.

"Go!" Henry shouted, and Caley pushed out of her arms as they all took off towards the corner of the street.

Emma's sprint was more of a jog, and the kids poked fun at the slow pace lightheartedly when she loped into the group. She gave out hugs freely if a child felt so inclined to bestow one upon her, and Regina smiled sadly, suddenly overcome with the urge to hug Emma. She jerked with the desire, not having expected it to slam into her with such intensity. It wasn't Emma's contagious energy as she was too far away to infect her. It was a yearning all her own, a familiar inspiration born from a desire to be physically close with the other woman.

She pressed a shaking palm to her chest and breathed deeply. It wasn't love, but at least it wasn't that empty lurching of her soul searching for an emotion that no longer existed. Her hands reached for Emma involuntarily as she reached the end of the driveway. The gesture halted Emma's movements for exactly one second.

Thick, heavy emotion overcame Emma further with each step towards Regina's arms, and when she was close enough, she dropped to her knees and flung her arms around Regina's hips. Her face pressed into her stomach, and Regina felt the warm wetness of tears seeping through the rough material of the shirt. Instinctively, one hand slipped around Emma's shoulders and the other buried itself in wild golden tresses. Her lips dropped to the crown of Emma's head and stayed there, tears of her own spilling out.

Belle dropped her head and turned slightly from the unexplainably emotional embrace. She swiped discreetly at tears of her own, gaze turned down the street. She was pleased to find that she wasn't the only one moved to tears by the reunion and smiled at Felicia and then Emily.

No obstacle, it seemed, presented too large a challenge for Emma Swan and Regina Mills, not even when one of them felt no love at all for the other. She was constantly awed by their connection, even though she knew of the existence of magic and had a true love of her very own. While her life with Ruby was everything she wanted, she also recognized that their true love would never have become a song of the poets. That made it no less real or extraordinary or wonderful, and she was relieved that they'd never been faced with the obstacles of their best friends.

Emma and Regina lived the type of story that became the great legends of their land, and she knew without a doubt that Emma's unwavering fealty in the belief that their love conquered all would eventually restore Regina's.

All she had to do was believe.


	17. Mine

Hello, Sweet Doves! Thank you for all your reviews and follows! This story might actually be more enjoyable than the first one to write. As for the outcries of anguish and rage at the direction of the story and Regina's behavior, I have only one answer: I've carried you this far, trust me to pull you through because there is a reason for everything. Legendary love isn't made by rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers as our lovely queen would say!

That said, let the outcries continue, and enjoy, Lovelies!

Songs: Think I'm Sick by Icon for Hire

* * *

The day passed quickly now that Regina and Emma had stopped blatantly ignoring each other. It wasn't perfect, but they managed to spend most of the day in the living room together, watching television mostly. Suddenly, the afternoon disappeared and Henry reappeared, exhausted but chittering excitedly about the game day they'd had at school. Regina helped Belle make dinner, mostly slicing vegetables or stirring a pot here and there.

Emma sat at the island and pretended to read one of the books Belle loaned her. Green eyes followed Regina's every movement, and though the skin around Regina's eyes tightened each time she met Emma's gaze, she allowed the stare to continue. Emma soaked it up as long as possible. Regina's drastic drop in weight concerned her. Though she dutifully drank the milk and broth and now ate whatever Belle deemed fit, her body slimmed more than when Emma had found her. Technically, in terms of calories, Regina still consumed too little to maintain her weight. Belle said it was fine and normal, but Emma worried despite her every faith in the librarian's knowledge on the subject.

Emma smiled when Belle touched the small of Regina's back with her fingertips as she reached around her to snag the bowl of chopped broccoli. Regina glanced over at the librarian as she stretched around her with softened eyes and a hint of a smile.

They, too, had come to an unspoken understanding after their awkward hug that morning. They worked in companionable silence and proudly spread dinner out before Emma and Henry. It was the first time they'd all eaten at the dining room table, and while there was something missing, namely Ruby, it felt a lot like a huge family dinner.

"Aunt Belle, can we go into Boston tomorrow and go to the library? It's huge!" Henry spread his arms wide, emphasizing his words. Emma and Regina smiled and studied Belle for her reaction.

"Sure, Henry. I haven't…" A harsh sigh escaped her mouth as he chest collapsed in on itself. She cleared her throat and adjusted her shoulders.

"Sorry, must be Ruby doing something strenuous," she explained and turned her attention back to Henry.

"I haven't had a chance to see much of the…" Her hand slapped the table as she doubled over, eyes and mouth wide with pain. Emma jumped to her feet and knelt beside Belle.

"Ruby," Belle whispered and panted, forehead resting on the table. She stilled so long that Emma thought the episode had passed.

She jerked backwards, loosing her balance and toppling onto her butt, when a hollow scream tore from Belle as she flung herself backwards into the chair. It tipped back onto two legs and then slammed back into the floor when Belle came forward again. She grasped the table with both hands until her knuckles ached and turned white from the pressure. She panted.

"Get Henry out of here," she warned in a deep thick voice that none of them had ever heard before. It was angry and threatening and completely void of control and emotion.

Regina stood and grabbed her son. She dragged him to their bedroom, locking both the bedroom door and the bathroom. Belle's screaming could be heard from the other end of the house.

"Belle, talk to me. What's happening?" Emma pleaded, fear evident in her voice.

Belle threw her head back and loosed another hollow scream mixed with a sob. Her hands tore at her chest, and Emma restrained them before they inflicted any real damage. Belle cried openly and squirmed in the chair, like she was having some sort of seizure.

"Ruby!" Belle screamed and toppled onto the floor on the side opposite Emma. The blonde scrambled on her hands and knees to the other side. She froze, however, when bright yellow stared at her where gentle blue had once been. Ruby had changed with Belle's heart in her chest. Crap.

"Something's wrong, Emma. Ruby promised she wouldn't change while she carried my heart. Call David," Belle strained in that same murderous tone. Emma tensed, sensing Belle's control had reached its limit.

Emma side stepped Belle as she flew forward, irrational rage flowing in her veins. She whirled in time to catch the tiny woman as she lunged for her again. She hooked her arm into Belle's and kicked the back of her leg. A whoosh of air left Belle's body as it slammed into the hardwood. She may have felt Ruby's rage, but she still only possessed Belle's strength, a miniscule amount compared to Emma's. She held her down easily, nearly losing her grip when Belle gnashed at her with her teeth.

"Regina!" Emma called, focusing on her friend squirming and writhing beneath her. "Regina, I need you now!"

"What's happening, Emma?" Regina asked as she entered the dining room.

"Call David and Captain. Tell him to get to Ruby's as fast as possible. I think she transformed with Belle's heart inside of her. She's burning up, Regina. Tell them to hurry." Emma ordered and struggled with her friend.

"Get it out of me!" Belle screamed, her back lifting from the floor. Her hands jerked and flailed in Emma's grasp, and the blonde barely contained her friend's urge to rip at the flesh of her chest.

"Emma! Get it out of me!" She begged.

Her face contorted in pain. She threw her head against the floor, tipping it backwards as another anguished howl tore from her throat. She writhed and wiggled, a woman possessed by an unseen demon. Emma stared, unable to look away from the tortured sight of a regular person experiencing the painful and disorienting transformation of a werewolf. She'd never asked Ruby if the process caused her pain, but she assumed that reassembling your body into the shape of something else wasn't necessarily pleasant.

"Please. Emma. Get it out. Make it stop! Emma!" Belle sobbed and jerked. Her eyes flickered between blue and yellow a moment before her head thrashed side to side and a piercing rasp of a cry filled the room. Emma dropped her head between her shoulders, preparing herself for what she was about to do.

"I'm sorry, Belle," Emma whispered, took a deep breath, and brought the back of her closed in a fist across Belle's temple.

The woman beneath her yipped in pain and then stilled. Her eyes glanced around, confused. They still glowed yellow. Emma hit her again the same exact way in the same exact spot. Her knuckles ached under the contact. Belle's eyes crossed but remained open. Emma straddled her hips, trapping her hands beneath her knees without putting pressure on them. If Belle lost control again, she was completely incapacitated by Emma's weight and strength.

She hit her again and again until her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went limp beneath her thighs. Bile climbed into her chest, and Emma swallowed the tangy taste of acid in the back of her throat.

"Emma, David and Snow are en route. They are calling Captain from the car. I spoke with Granny, and she was under the impression that Ruby was going home early to go to bed. Granny said that Belle's heart has been making her more and more exhausted everyday." Regina explained quietly, unnerved by the sight of a very pale Emma heaving atop an unconscious and bleeding Belle.

Emma's knuckles were busted and covered in blood. She'd beaten a gash onto the side of Belle's head before the woman had given herself over to unconsciousness. Her chin tucked into her chest, eyes shut tightly against the sight of her friend bruised and bleeding by her hand. It was an act of mercy, but that hadn't made it feel any better.

"Get a bag together for me and you, and have Henry pack one, too. We're going to Storybrooke," Emma said in a deceptively calm and even voice without raising her head.

Regina left the room immediately. Words weren't necessary nor would they have eased the guilt and disgust in Emma's heart at what she'd just done. She forced herself from Belle's hips and followed Regina to their room. She took a moment to slip her holster and gun onto her belt and grabbed her handcuffs.

The once comforting weight of her sidearm now tugged at her hip with the burden of what she'd done with it. She'd taken at least two lives that day no matter what the police had or hadn't found. When they arrived at the farmhouse, they found a spotless crime scene, no bodies or torture devices. Not a trace of evidence indicated that Regina had ever been held captive and tortured there, which meant Neal's indictment encompassed only showing up at her house and attacking her. Assault. The bastard got off with an assault charge. Whoever he worked for had long arms and deep pockets if they cleaned up the sight of a possible triple homicide that quickly.

Emma pushed away that angry thought for a later date and knelt beside her friend. Acid burned her chest as she rolled her onto her stomach and clicked the cuffs into place. After some maneuvering and wincing, she managed to get Belle's dead weight onto her shoulder and snagged her keys from the hook at the door. The petite librarian didn't actually weight that much, but Emma shook from spent adrenaline and wheezed into cracked ribs and bruised muscles.

She deposited her into the back seat of their Camry and glanced around to see what neighbor may have seen the newest episode of the Swan-Mills version of _The Munsters_. Regina and Henry appeared at the top of the steps as she strapped Belle into the safety belt. Her neck was bound to ache when she came to, but at least with her hands chained behind her back and the seat belt holding her in place, she'd be unable to move if she woke in the same state she'd been in when Emma knocked her out.

"Henry, get up front," Emma ordered, and the boy obeyed without comment. He missed most of what had happened, but he knew that it involved Ruby and Belle's shared hearts. Something bad had happened to Ruby.

Emma sprinted back into the house and grabbed the bags that Regina was too weak to carry and the first aid kit. She handed it to Regina and deposited their bags in the trunk. They were nearly an hour into the drive before Regina's phone rang.

"Snow, is Ruby okay?" Regina asked, not bothering with pleasantries. She glanced at her son and switched her phone to speaker so Emma heard everything as it was said. Henry already knew Ruby had been injured.

"She's alive. Someone broke into the house. It looks like she was ambushed. She was in wolf form when we found her. She must have changed when she realized what was happening. She tore out two of their throats before they took her down. Her blood trail leads all over the house so she was already injured before she turned. There's a lot of blood where we found her, Regina. I know Ruby's strong, but.." Snow huffed on the other end, clearly shaken by what she'd seen.

"Dr. Zambrano is with her now. Belle's library was torn apart. I think they found what they were looking for because there was a hidden compartment behind one of the shelves. It was empty, but there was a circle in the middle of the dust, like something had been there for a really long time."

"The trigger," Regina said as her eyes slipped shut. She'd forgotten about the trigger.

"Regina, you said something about a trigger in your message. What the hell are you talking about?" Emma demanded and pressed harder on the accelerator. Let them give her a ticket.

"It's a failsafe that I built into the curse. I thought it could only be activated with my magic, but if they've gone through this much trouble to acquire it, they must have a way." Regina explained without actually explaining anything.

"Failsafe? A failsafe for what?" Snow piped, and Regina sighed.

"It will destroy Storybrooke, wipe all remnants of it from this land. Even the people. It won't send you back to The Enchanted Forest. If we don't stop them, everyone in Storybrooke will die." Her voice dropped to a low register as self-loathing and regret filled her heart. She never dreamed in her wildest fantasies that Emma Swan would ever happen to her.

"Regina, why would you create such a thing?" Snow asked, fear evident in her voice.

"I wasn't exactly sane at the time, Snow!" Regina snapped.

Fear dictated her behavior. She cared for many people trapped within the barrier of the curse. Either way, if the trigger was activated, she lost them, either to death or permanent amnesia with no magic to restore their memories.

Belle groaned alive at Regina's shrill voice. "Ruby?" She winced and lifted her head slowly.

"Snow, we need an update on Miss Lucas, please," Regina snipped and then switched off the speaker and handed her phone to Emma.

"Belle, hold still. Emma knocked you out. You're handcuffed. Don't struggle. I'm getting the key," Regina explained quickly. She leaned between the seats and shoved her hand in Emma's pocket, pulling back with a faint jingle of the tiny silver keys.

She unhooked the seatbelt holding Belle upright and caught her weight with an arm across her chest and shoulders. Adrenaline and willpower kept the petite woman upright because Regina felt certain she shouldn't have been strong enough. She unlocked Belle's hands and then slumped into the seat. Belle's shoulder blades pressed into her breasts, and she held the other woman tightly as she acclimated to her dazed reality. Emma may have cause a concussion.

"Hold on," Emma said and then held the phone over her shoulder. "Give that to Belle."

"Hello," Belle rasped, eyes clenching shut at the sudden pounding behind her eyes the effort of speaking caused.

"Baby," Ruby croaked on the other end of the line. A soft high-pitch sounded vibrated in Belle's throat.

"Ruby Lucas, if you scare me like that again, I'll have Regina singe your fur," Belle threatened, her strength returning faster than expected.

"You're not mad that I changed with your heart?" She asked. Her voice was weak, and a soft murmur of activity sounded in the background. A group of people walking and talking on either side of Ruby? Was she going into surgery? Belle covered her eyes with her free hand, depending on Regina to keep her upright.

"I'm not mad, Sweetheart. I would greatly appreciate you never doing that again, though. Where are they taking you, Ruby?" Belle grappled with her tears. Ruby was hurt once again, and she hadn't been there.

"To get an MRI of my stomach and brain. Snow made them let me bring the phone with me. I'm okay. They just caught me off guard, Baby. I'm fine." Ruby reassured her partner, but her voice quivered, telling Belle just how scared she was.

"Ruby, where are you hurt? What did they do to you?" Belle asked, needing to know the truth. Ruby sighed heavily.

"They stabbed me in the stomach with a fire poker. They're trying to determine if I need surgery. Zambrano thinks it missed all of my organs, but she's just being thorough. They knocked me out with the same thing, so she's checking for fractures and stuff. I was in wolf form at the time, so my head should be perfectly fine. I'm okay, Baby. I promise. I'm fine." Ruby confessed the extent of her injuries. She at the very least had a concussion, which accounted for her slurry and weighted speech.

"I'm on my way, Darling. I'll be there soon. How far away are we?" She glanced up at Regina and then jerked, finally realizing who held her upright. They locked eyes for an intense moment as Belle decided if she wanted to pull away or stay put. Regina swallowed but otherwise held perfectly still..

"About two hours," Emma answered from the front seat. She remained ignorant to the internal struggle in the back seat.

"I'll be there in about two hours," Belle said and averted her gaze. Apparently, the strength required to pull away took too much attention from her partner, and she allowed the contact for now even if her body stiffened in Regina's innocent embrace.

"I have to go, Baby," Ruby whined, and Belle's eyes clamped shut at the tears in her lover's voice.

"I'll be home soon. I love you." Belle covered her eyes with her hand as Ruby repeated the words and then Snow returned to the line.

Emma twisted her arm in the back seat when she sensed their conversation coming to a close. Belle felt her searching hand brush her arm and slapped the phone into her hand. She immediately jumped into strategy with her mother, not having the luxury of coddling the heartbroken librarian, not when everyone they loved might be obliterated.

"Belle, I've got you," Regina whispered and squeezed her tighter.

Belle's neck rested in the crook of Regina's elbow, the hand of that arm squeezing her opposite shoulder. The other rubbed her bicep soothingly. She expected Belle's rejection but not her hesitant acceptance of comfort. When she displayed no intention of removing herself from Regina's grasp, Regina wrapped her free arm around Belle's waist and pressed a cheek to her hair.

"You have been our rock, Belle. It's okay to let go now. Emma and I are here for you. I'm here for you," Regina comforted the young woman. Silently, she prayed Ruby and everyone else they loved still lived by the time they reached Storybrooke. If they activated the trigger, everything will have been annihilated before they ever arrived.

Emma finished her conversation and tossed her phone into the cup holder. "Snow and David are calling for emergency volunteers to help search for them or anything magical happening." Emma said, her voice as tight as her coiled muscles. She grabbed Henry's hand and pulled it into her lap.

"Everything is going to be okay, Henry. We're not going to let them hurt anyone else, okay?" Emma poured as much belief and confidence into the statement as she mustered.

The miles stretched on, passing slowly despite Emma's dangerously high speed. Just outside the line, Regina's phone rang again. Emma poked at the screen until the speaker device activated. Belle sat up and leaned forward.

"The device is in the mines, Emma. They've triggered it." Her mother's tear-strained voice informed her.

"They've gathered at the docks. I don't know what they're waiting for. Emma where are you?" Snow asked, wanting to see her daughter one last time.

"We're crossing the line now," she answered, devoid of emotion. They hadn't made it in time. Regina rolled down the window and hung her head out as the magic slammed into her. There was nothing in her stomach to empty, but the cool moist air made her feel better.

"Take me to the mines," Regina said. "I'll try and stop this." Emma simply nodded.

They might have turned back, saved themselves and their son, but no one even thought of the selfish decision.

"Belle?" Ruby's voice came over the speaker.

"Ruby Lucas, why aren't you in the hospital?" She demanded, terror in her voice.

"I have to try and stop them, Baby. I love you," she said darkly.

"Ruby!" Four voices called out with only wolf's howl to respond.

"Emma, tell Regina to hurry the hell up," Snow said over a cacophony of metal clashing, a howl, a gun shot. Silence.

"Mom?" Nothing. "Mom!" Emma yelled. A volt of panic ripped through her chest. They were so close. She screeched to a stop at the cannery, and Emma turned around.

"Go to the mines. Stop this. I love you." She met Regina's eyes, touched Henry's hair, and then she was off like a shot, running through the night towards the sound of the obvious battle taking place.

When Regina stilled in shock, Belle jumped out of the car and slid behind the wheel.

They used their cell phones for light as they descended into the belly of the creaking and groaning mine. A faint glow in the distance informed them that they'd finally found the failsafe. The silence was heavy as they followed the bright glow of the trigger. Regina stopped and kissed Henry's forehead.

"Belle, you need to leave Storybrooke while you still can. Take Henry. Go back to Salem." Their eyes met, and Belle knew that Regina intended to die during her mission.

"Regina, we won't leave you," Belle said with an honest conviction.

Regina nodded, kissed her son again. They continued down the shaft towards the light. Regina took a steadying breath when it came into sight. She stopped a foot away from the swirling blue light and simply stared at the device.

"Regina, can you do this?" Belle asked and stepped shoulder to shoulder with the witch.

"If I were at full strength, then yes. I have to try," she breathed and then slid her hands over the glowing trigger. She gasped as the shock pulled through her veins, and she pushed against it with everything she had. She wasn't strong enough and now she knew it. She had barely used magic in a year, and her body had been weakened by her two week long captivity.

"Belle, you need to take Henry and leave Storybrooke. I'll hold this as long as I can," Regina begged her, voice deep and hollow with unshed tears.

"Let me help you," Belle said suddenly and moved to the other side of the trigger.

"You can't wield magic, Miss French," Regina snipped. Everything hurt as a thousand tiny explosion blasted beneath her skin.

"Do you honestly believe someone as brilliant as me with unfettered access to The Dark One's library never taught herself how to wield magic? You're not a fool, Regina. I simply refuse to use it." Belle's tone rumbled around them, insulted that no one had even considered the possibility because she behaved so innocently. There was so much more to her than anyone knew. Ruby saw it, encouraged it. Just as she saw and encouraged the quiet strength beneath Ruby's short skirts and flirtatious personality.

"All that time, you could have escaped when I held you prisoner. Why didn't you?" Regina implored. The new information floored her.

Belle studied her face for a moment and then raised her hands to the device without responding. Her eyes, however, glazed with grief. Regina felt the strength of the librarian's magic join hers, beating back the destruction of the trigger. She smiled despite the grave situation. Their combined power pushed and pulled. Together, they possessed the strength required to stop this. The joy fell from her face when she met Belle's eyes.

"You were punishing yourself," Regina's thoughts fell from her mouth without her permission in a strained and weighted statement, not question. Blue eyes dropped to the glowing device and hardened. What the hell had Belle done with magic that made her believe that she deserved what she'd done to her?

A sudden explosion of energy vanquished the thought as Regina and Belle flew backwards. The device fell to the ground with a clink, and the mine darkened. Henry grabbed the trigger as both women fumbled for their cell phones to use as flashlights. They fled the mine with Henry wedged between them. By the time they reached the docks, the battle had already been decided.

Ruby lay on the ground, propped up by Snow and wrapped in her red cloak. David knelt beside them and pressed his hand to a trickling wound on the side of his head. Captain, Grumpy and a few others hovered around them. They all wore solemn expressions, but they were victorious. Belle ran to Ruby, the injured woman wrapped the librarian in her cloak. Ruby was obviously fine if a little worst for wear. Regina squeezed Henry's hand tighter as they approached at a slower pace.

"Where's Emma?" Panic seized her heart when no one responded verbally but simply looked around at each other.

Regina pulled Henry into her side and hugged the boy. Belle pulled away from her lover's embrace as she also recognized the tight, saddened energy swarming the group.

"Where is she?" Regina demanded, hysteria raising her pitch. The first inklings of their natural affinity for one another had only begun to blossom for the second time, and her heart clenched painfully with the thought that she'd lost her again, permanently.

"She… I don't know," Snow said, devoid of emotion, but she visibly tightened her grip on Ruby.

"Neverland," a familiar accented voice called from the edge of the dock. Hook. His jacket had been ripped, and blood wept from a split in his lip. As he remained standing and not held captive, he must have fought on their side.

"Those were Peter Pan's lackeys. She's been taken to Neverland," he informed them and sauntered closer to the group.

"Why? How do you know they went to Neverland?" Regina barked and stepped between the man and her best friend laying on the ground.

"Haven't the slightest why, Love, but I spent a century running from his boys and another half working with them. I know what they look like," he explained cockily and hooked his only thumb into his pants.

"Mom!" Henry jostled her until she looked down at him. "You have to go get her, Mom. She came for you," he stated his opinion with childlike vigor. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach.

"It's not that simple, Henry. We have no portal there, no portal home, and the questionable word of a pirate who may be leading us into another ambush. We don't even know that's where she went, Sweetheart," Regina said sadly and brushed her hand over his hair.

"No!" He jerked away from her. "She came for you! Why can't you just believe in her like she believed in you?" Henry sprinted away, and David held his hand out as he stood, telling her that he intended to retrieve his grandson.

"We still have the compass, Regina. We can navigate a portal if we can figure out how to open one," Snow piped, and Regina rolled her eyes. Regina huffed at the murderously irritating optimism.

"Can we please focus on something we can actually accomplish, such as taking this mutt to the vet. I'd have put her down by now if she were a horse." Regina sniped at everyone, grabbed Belle's shoulder and Ruby's thigh and sent them to the emergency room with a wave of her hand.

She fell forward with the effort, a testament to her already weakened state. She glared at Snow when she reached out to catch her, and the princess retracted her hand.

"You're asking me to leave my son in this realm without either of his mothers. He's upset right now, but he'll move on," Regina said more to herself than anyone else and pushed off the wet ground.

"Why aren't you upset?" Snow stared up at her, finally realizing that after her initial shock that Regina recovered far too quickly from the revelation of Emma's fate. No response.

Now that Emma no longer lingered physically, all traces of the compassion and affinity for Snow's daughter seeped from Regina's soul. Emma was gone, and she would have been happy simply taking a bath and going to bed. She hadn't cared. She wanted to, searched deeply for a sliver of something that urged her into desperate action like everyone around her. All that greeted her was a dull ache of no longer having something that used to be a constant.

She missed Emma like she missed being a paralegal. She'd liked the work and her boss and had been talented in the field, but it wasn't something she couldn't bear to live without. The emptiness lurched in her heart, reminding her of what she'd lost. She clenched her jaw and bowed her head. Emma had begun making her fall in love again last night when she attempted to read to her. She wanted that again.

"_I don't need Europe. I just need you and Henry." _Emma's voice echoed in her mind as she searched for a reason to care, to feel.

"_You make me feel beautiful, Emma." "You are beautiful."_ Tears sprang to Regina's eyes.

"_You drove all the way from Maine so that I wouldn't have to go to a stupid pool party alone?" _Her heart lurched again, desperately looking for the emotion that made her needlessly drive four hours in order to watch Emma play with children. The thought of missing one second of that inspired the impromptu trip. She hadn't even taken Ruby to the hospital when she'd fallen off the ladder that day, trusting Belle to drive her there and back.

"_You're the amazing, incredible, intelligent, beautiful, sexy-as-hell woman I happen to be in love with. You're just changing, that's all." _She covered her eyes with one hand, the other at her hip, and fought to remain upright.

"_So, you get these hormone injection things, rag for a month and then get your eggs sucked out with a needle? Like little oysters." _She laughed into her tears, remembering Emma's horrified expression

"_I want to carry your egg."_

"_Regina Mills, I want you to be my wife." "Marry me, Regina"_

"_Regina." "I feel it." "It feels like…" "Like you're still carrying my heart." _A high pitched noise pulled from her throat as she inhaled, and then another, and another until nothing was heard at the docks except her tortured cries.

_"As long as my heart beats and has the ability to love, Emma Swan, I will never leave you." _Her heart pounded furiously in her chest, and she possessed the ability to love even if she didn't love Emma yet. Her heart swelled for one brief moment and then shriveled. Something hardened as the sweet taste of revenge dripped onto her tongue.

"I want it back," she confessed, meeting Snow's eyes as she lowered her hand to her empty chest.

Tears dried instantly. Pan had stolen from her. He took her love and kidnapped Emma. They were hers, and she intended to retrieve them. Hot rage completed the helix of dark magic previously torn apart by Emma's gentle and soothing touch.

"She belongs to me. I want her back." Regina's calm voice revealed the rage beneath the words. It wasn't a vow or a promise or a statement of emotion. It was a threat, plain as day and dangerous as poison.

Snow's eyes narrowed at the odd statements, but Hook inserted himself before she questioned them.

"Ladies, if I may," the pirate waved his hook in a sweeping gesture and opened a pouch on his belt. "I do happen to have a magic bean or two and a ship. Care for a ride?" He patted his hip, a lascivious smirk on his face, but something in his eyes killed Regina's retort on her tongue.

"Why would you help us?" Regina raised an eyebrow and lowered her chin as she studied the man who had helped bring her mother to Storybrooke and ultimately to her death.

"Perhaps Pan has something I want. The Dark One," Hook confessed. He leaned forward and breathed the words as though he divulged the secret to life.

God, she hated that man. Rumpelstiltskin was dead, but if he believed Pan held him captive in Neverland, then who was she to question that? He offered her Emma, and that was far more important to her than his vendetta. Revenge plots against Rumpelstiltskin came a dime a dozen. Cold brown eyes bore into the pirate's, and he lowered his gaze, suddenly submissive to the obviously seething woman who had just lost the love of her life.

"I have only one request." He adjusted his shoulders and met Regina's eyes again. "Ruby Lucas accompanies your party."

"How would you like your nuts to match your hands?" Regina snipped and stepped into his personal space. A swell of protectiveness mingled with her calm rage. He'd violated her friend on the deepest level possible, and she'd not allow him further access for his own sick pleasure. No one injured those loyal to her and survived. If he refused her the beans, she'd take them by force.

"You misunderstand. We all must atone for our sins," he whispered, his words for her ears only. Her forehead bunched as she pulled back an inch. He wanted to apologize to Ruby?

"Give me the beans, and I'll make certain she is on that ship." She raised her chin defiantly and extended a hand far steadier than it should have been. He slapped the pouch in her hand without breaking eye contact. Regina Mills had become an honorable woman. She wouldn't have broken her word to take him along, not now.

"We leave as soon as Ruby is healed enough to go safely through a portal," she informed everyone but looked directly at Snow.

"Make sure my son eats dinner." The threat was obvious despite what should have been an affectionate request for the care of her son.

Snow nodded, the change in Regina stealing her ability to speak. Regina stomped towards her car. She wanted to teleport, but Ruby needed a ride when she was released. Magic was hard on the system, and she'd been feeling and thinking the thoughts and emotions of two people plus her wolf for nearly a month. Her friend needed respite from magic, and she needed a long hot soak in it.

The wolf revealed herself easily when Regina reached the hospital. She nodded to the receptionist at the front desk and followed the ruckus Ruby made in the triage rooms. It felt oddly familiar, hinting towards those two months they'd practically moved in while Emma recovered from being shot. Those memories were arguably the most conflicted of her life, filled with so much pain and so much joy as she and Emma and Belle and Ruby fell in love while filtering in and out of the antiseptic-scented walls.

"Miss Lucas, must you be a constant pain in the ass wherever you go?" Regina sniped as she rounded the curtain separating her from the rest of the patients. Her irritation faded, however, when she took in the sight of Belle in a heap on the floor and Ruby in restraints that wouldn't have been able to hold her should her cloak be dislodged from her body.

"Fuck you, Regina. This is your fault. You can't just magic poof a wolf on the full moon! I got here in wolf form about 20 seconds before my cloak. Belle's eyes were fucking yellow!" She screeched at her best friend and then slumped into the bed.

Regina glared at the nurse standing over Belle's unconscious form, and a sick sort of satisfaction spread in her chest when fear flickered in the poor woman's eyes. That particular expression had not been flung at her since announcing her union with Emma over a year ago. Her spine straightened, threatening the terrified woman further.

"Leave us," she hissed, and the woman tripped over her feet as she obeyed the command. Apparently, her queen was showing.

"Stay," she ordered Ruby and buried her fist in her chest. Ruby jerked but looked up at her with trusting if hesitant eyes.

Why was she being so cold, so mean? So unlike Regina and so very like The Evil Queen? The same tight shiver that used to crawl up Ruby's spine when she spotted The Evil Queen riding into battle to assist her troops now traced her heart. That feeling lay dormant for 30 years. Why had it returned now?

Belle gasped, coming to life with a start when Regina shoved the proper heart into her chest. Her tiny hands grabbed Regina's shoulders for support, but Regina stood, wrenching herself from the hold. Blue eyes narrowed in confusion at the harsh reaction. Regina had spent the past year trying to get close with her, to prove that she wasn't the person who had hurt her so much. Now that her contrition achieved it's goal, she slapped her down again.

Belle shook off the slight sting of rejection and scraped her tired and bruised body from the floor. Magic crackled in her fingers, begging to be used, and she retreated to Ruby's arms the second Regina released them. As with every addictive habit, once you've used magic, it constantly nagged and pleaded pathetically to be used again. She refused it's demand and pressed her face into Ruby's shoulder.

"Miss Lucas, you shall accompany me to Neverland once you've healed enough to be of use," she informed the wolf with a clipped, condescending tone. Ruby shivered again. What the hell was wrong with Regina?

"Regina, you know I'll do what I can to help you save Emma. Are you okay?" Ruby asked hesitantly. She witnessed Regina's verbal beat down on many people, but she hadn't been one of them since she served in Snow's army. Regina asked for her help, requested with a quiet reverence for their friendship. She never demanded.

"I'm wonderful, Dear, but we're not going to Neverland to rescue Emma." The familiar sickly sweet tone slid into Ruby and Belle's chests. That voice had not fallen upon their ears in many, many years.

Regina sneered at the visible reaction and supported her weight on the bed above Ruby's head, pressing closer until her breath puffed across Ruby's cheek as she spoke.

"We are going to Neverland to reclaim what is mine and destroy Peter Pan."


	18. Bring Her Home

So, I've had some questions in reviews and messages about Belle using magic. This is something I've had planned since I decided to do a sequel. The trigger scene was obviously a distraction for Regina in order to kidnap Emma. It wasn't essential to my version of events. So why why why you ask can Belle use magic? The answer as simply as I can put it: I'm in love with the idea, so I did it. There are so many deliciously dark possibilities for her character given her proclivity towards darkness and belief in reform. There's got to be a reason… this is mine, and I love it.

Plus, I needed another magic wielder for the next story which will go through S3 part 2. Yes, I've said it. There will be another after this. I've already got half of it planned.

Sorry for the delay in getting this up. It's been finished for nearly 12 hours but we found out yesterday that my partner just got her dream teaching job at the school she wanted to be at! She didn't tell me until I got home today. So, there was much celebrating. (Guess I best be prepared to stay where I am for another 30 years or so.)

Songs: All I Wanna Do (is Make Love to You) by Halestorm (usually not into covers of the classics but OMG go listen to this.)

* * *

"Ruby, what are we going to do about Regina?" Belle asked and crossed her arms over her chest, bracing her uncaged breasts against the shiver the crept up her spine.

She stood at the window of their bedroom in a camisole and a pair of Ruby's red boy shorts that were a little too tight on her but incredibly comfortable. She watched Regina practice magic in the backyard. It'd been two days since Emma's kidnapping, and the sorceress constantly played with her powers as she waited for Ruby to recover. She hadn't asked after Henry or visited him at his grandparents' apartment. She barely spoke at all, and when she opened her mouth, she blatantly avoided all topics pertaining to Emma Swan.

She was broken. Regina was broken, and The Evil Queen grew stronger each day.

"She's dealing with it the only way she knows how," Ruby said from the bed. She braced her hands into the mattress and slowly pulled herself up enough to prop and lean against pillows on the headboard.

Blue eyes raked over her naked torso, lingering on the patch of white gauze with a dark red spot in the center. "Don't you dare defend her."

"Belle, leave it alone," Ruby avoided her eyes, choosing instead to stare at the ceiling with hand hanging onto the headboard.

"I will not, Ruby Lucas," she confronted her lover with a stern voice, tightened her arms over her chest and returned her attention to the purple haze in the backyard.

"She frightens me, Ruby." The words brushed across the glass in a soft whisper as though she feared Regina actually hearing them, but Ruby's wolf hearing caught every syllable.

Belle's chin dropped to her chest, shoulders coiling with tension. Ruby's brow furrowed as her body raised from the pillows. She hadn't been here for the past two days. Belle had. Maybe she'd missed something because Belle's fear of Regina dissipated the night she broke down in her study after Emma had been shot over a year ago.

"Baby," Ruby caught her attention gently. "Come back to bed," she urged, not yet willing to move more than necessary. Apparently, getting stabbed with a fire poker and then wolfing out to eat people trying to kidnap one of your best friends was an awful idea. Luckily, Eva deemed her wounds treatable without surgery.

Belle turned from the window and crossed to the bed slowly, arms still crossed tightly. Brown eyes traced every curve of her body, and an entirely different shiver quaked beneath her skin. Her hands slid down her sides, still crisscrossed and lifted her camisole over her head, shaking out her hair as it pulled free of the fabric. Nipples hardened painfully when Ruby's chest began a staccato rhythm that reflected the pounding of her heart.

One side of Belle's mouth lifted in a devilish smirk as she slid the tiny shorts from her hips. Ruby gasped when only skin showed where Belle's soft neat curls used to be at the apex of her thighs. Ruby swallowed. Cleared her throat. Stared.

"That's new," she said stupidly, suddenly nervous in her arousal. Belle fluttered in her chest, and she realized that the remaining connection of their souls told her that her anxiety actually belonged to Belle.

"I like feeling your tongue and nothing else on my skin, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I may have to start wearing panties, though," Belled said shyly, and Ruby reached for her.

She bent one knee on the bed and used it to lever the other over her lover's bare thighs, hands resting lightly on thin shoulders. Ruby's hands immediately wrapped around her hips, thumbs hooked in the crease of her thighs. Belle's skin rippled beneath her touch, already flushed and heated from desire for her injured wolf.

Ruby tipped her chin upwards with her nose and pressed wet lips onto her throat. A happy hum vibrated Belle's chest as her head fell back. Silky brown and red tresses slid through her fingers, and Belle followed them down until her palms pressed against defined collarbones.

"I just wanted to be close to you, Ruby. You don't have to," Belle offered valiantly without any real conviction in her tone.

"I want you," came the muffled response against her neck. Teeth scraped the skin beneath her ear, and her knees pressed into Ruby's thighs when her body involuntarily sought pressure against her throbbing center.

"You're hurt," she protested weakly. They both knew what she wanted, and it certainly wasn't cuddles. Comfort, perhaps. But not in the form of cuddles.

"I want you," Ruby repeated. Teeth sank into the muscle connecting Belle's neck and shoulder, and hips rolled against a toned thighs.

Ruby kissed a line to Belle's shoulder and then switched directions and moved over the swell of her breast. Knuckles trailed up a flat stomach. Soft gasps surrounded them. Time slowed as their bodies reconnected after being separated for a month.

Belle leaned forward and pressed their lips together. They parted with two heated gasps and came together again with renewed fervor. Ruby's calloused palm covered one breast and teeth and lips claimed the nipple of the other. The kiss broke for a sharp intake of air, and warm sticky liquid coated toned legs. Ruby spread them, creating a gap between Belle and the bed.

Eyes met. Fingers glided into clenching velvet. Bodies stilled. Belle wrapped both hands around the back of Ruby's neck and leaned back slightly. She used the hold as an anchor as she rose and fell onto Ruby's hand. She added a third, and Belle's head fell backwards.

She held her hand still, wrist pressing into the soft bed, fingers rigid, and simply watched Belle ride out a slow, sensuous dance of hips and thighs. She rose from her thighs a few inches, sank, rolled her hips forward. Over and over, she pumped herself onto her lover's hand in an unhurried rhythm. This wasn't about getting off, Ruby realized. This truly was about Belle being close to her, feeling her physically.

Blue met brown as Belle's head pulled forward and held the gaze as those wonderfully curvaceous hips maintained that meticulously steady pace. Ruby slid a hand up her side and wrapped it around her ribs, pressing her forward slightly. Breasts met when Belle slid her arms around her lover's slight frame. Lips met, parted, came together in a languorous dance that seemed to stretch into eternity. Time suspended, and the women allowed it as their lips moved together in the same deliciously torturous speed as Belle's hips.

Slick muscles clenched fingers, and Ruby settled into reality once more. Belle leaned back enough to meet Ruby's eyes. She wanted Ruby to be a part of this in every way. She needed to see her, feel her, taste her salt on her lips, catch her breath on her cheek. Fingers thrust upwards with the next roll of her hips, eliciting a sharp intake of air.

Belle struggled to maintain eye contact when Ruby's fingers met her again. Her hips jerked as the slow pressure she'd built jumped forward into a burning need. She ground onto Ruby's hand, not bothering to raise onto her knees again as hips and hand moved as one unit. She clenched the fingers tighter with each thrust, jerking harder and faster each time they weren't buried to the knuckle within her.

Each inhalation carried a breathy sigh. Tendrils of tingling pleasure spread down into Belle's thigh and up into her chest, taking her bodily. Ruby's thumb bumped her clit as the fingers jabbed the rough bundle of nerves within. Belle's spine straightened painfully as her hips stilled and ecstasy exploded behind her eyes. Blue eyes melted into brown, giving everything to her lover. Ruby startled at the gesture, feeling more expose in the intimacy than she ever had.

It lasted only a moment before Belle collapsed onto her shoulder and pressed her face into her neck. Hot tears dripped against her collarbone, and Ruby nearly pulled her hand from her lover. Belle rolled her hips again, despite not having recovered physically or emotionally from the intense moment they'd just shared. Ruby followed her lead.

Nails dug into Ruby's back and shoulders as she brought Belle to the edge again and offered her body as a lifeline before shoving her over the side. Belle stilled in her arms. More tears trickled onto her chest. Belle moved again. Ruby rolled her onto her back and pressed bodily into her side without losing contact with her scorching, clenching center.

Belle pulled their lips together with a hand on the back of her neck. An hysterical giddiness built in her chest, telling her she should have stopped after the first climax. Still, her hips met Ruby thrust for thrust, pushing her mind past the threshold of sanity and endorphin-induced oblivion. Hands buried in silky hair, holding Ruby to her chest when firm lips sucked a nipple into her mouth.

Eyes slammed shut. Mouth opened in a silent scream. Red heat exploded beneath her chest and cheeks as Ruby's steady fingers coaxed her to that precipice once more. High pitched whines surrounded them with every exhalation from Belle's lungs. It grew in strength despite the weakening thrusts of her jellied stomach muscles. Her walls clenched, her breath caught and then exploded with a loud yelp as she forced the air from her gasping lungs.

Ruby pulled back and watched her lover's face for a moment before slamming into her violently. Belle moved bodily against the bed, and Ruby repeated the action, spurred forward by the increasingly vocal reaction from her unrestrained lover. Ruby's own stomach clenched, and she slammed into Belle again.

She threw her head against the pillow, shoulders raising. A rasping high pitched squall tore from her lover's throat, and if Ruby hadn't watched the build up to this moment, she might have been terrified that she'd actually hurt Belle instead of giving her intense pleasure. A flush of liquid squirted onto her hand and the sheet, and Belle collapsed onto the bed.

Her mouth poised in a silent scream, and panic struck Ruby's heart when she realized Belle wasn't breathing. A moment before she spoke, a gust of breath puffed hotly against her face, followed by an hysterical sob. She pulled her fingers free from the painfully tense muscles inside her lover. That same raspy, almost hollow scream pulled from Belle, and her body shook and shuddered as the second wave caused by her sudden movement of Ruby's fingers jerked her body in a terrifying display.

Her muscles went rigid as more liquid spilled onto the bed and air became trapped in her lungs once more. Ruby stared in awe until Belle breathed again in the same scary gasping sobs that jerked her chest up and down like a marionette on a string. Ruby wiped her slick hand over the sheets and slid an arm beneath Belle's neck.

The quivering woman curled into her chest like a magnet to metal, and Ruby questioned whether or not Belle's mind actually registered her body's actions. Belle sobbed, quieted, quivered, wailed into her chest. Over and over, her body and mind warred, one trying to find reality and the other jolting her system with another wave of ecstasy meant to keep her freefalling into an abyss of painful pleasure.

Every nerve ending burned and exploded with each new touch of Ruby's hands and pushed her into another sob. Ruby stilled, breathed, waited. It was the single most satisfying, terrifying, and awe-inspiring moment of her entire existence. Whatever had possessed Belle to push herself beyond her emotional limits left her in a heap of weeping solitude, trapped inside her mind with only Ruby's motionless hands on her back and heaving chest on her face as her anchors to reality.

As Belle calmed, Ruby realized that she didn't even want anything in return for what she'd just given her lover. The intensity of the moment quelled her own arousal, satisfying her on a deeper level. Time passed, and eventually Belle took a deep breath and brushed a quivering palm over Ruby's breast. The wolf covered the smaller hand with her own and pressed it into the tiny mound on her chest, halting its movement.

"No," Ruby said gently. "Just enjoy this for as long as it lasts." Her lips brushed Belle's cheek as she spoke, and the tiny woman trembled again, skin still painfully sensitized and acutely aware of her lover's touch.

Ruby wrapped herself around Belle when tears trickled onto her chest again. Belle may have made a valiant effort, but her involuntary reaction to her innocent and gentle touch told Ruby that she'd chosen the right course of action. Her touch had already scratched something open within her lover, and her conscience nagged her, urging her to give Belle this moment without asking for reciprocity.

Belle had cried before, usually did actually. She was too sensitive not to, and that's simply who she was. Ruby loved it. She loved kissing her chest and neck as she brought her down from the emotional release that her touch inspired. She'd cried a few times herself, not with Belle but other lovers before her, save the meltdown in the kitchen a month ago. It wasn't the same thing as being moved to tears from the joy of making love. That part of her was given to others, and it had irritated them, somehow made it less enjoyable if they had to hold her through the tears afterwards. Their reactions damaged her, encouraged her to separate the intense emotions that should have been associated with the act of making love.

As long as she lived and Belle desired her touch, she vowed never to take that from the beautiful and already scarred librarian. For all intents and purposes, she was Belle's sole lover. Neither The Evil Queen nor Gold had given her a choice or the freedom to explore her own sexuality, to see how much she could feel, how far her physical limitations reached. She was naturally sexual, longed for it, loved coming undone and returning the act.

Everything about making love intrigued Belle and, in turn, Ruby. It was different every time, fast and desperate, slow and sensual, deep and healing like the day they'd given into their passions in the kitchen just a month ago. Belle mended the deep gashes in her soul so that they might scab and scar and become a dull ache in the back of her mind.

"Don't go to Neverland," Belle begged into her neck without warning. Ruby leaned back and stared down at her lover.

"I have to go. I can't let Regina go alone, and I won't leave Emma in that place, especially not after seeing what they did to Regina." Ruby steeled herself for the task, silently asking Belle to accept her role in it.

"Regina's magic can't beat Pan's no matter how much she absorbs before she goes. She's hardening her heart again for nothing. You know exactly who she's becoming again. Please don't go there with her," Belle begged and hated the weakness in her voice.

"You have information on Pan?" Ruby bit and then took a deep breath. Belle's heart still lay wide open in her arms, and intense anger would have gouged the sensitive organ.

"A bit. Rumpel kept journals, accounts of his exploits and deals and magical objects. I found one once by accident while I was cleaning his castle. He was away to collect a payment, so I read it. I didn't think about it until this morning when I was watching Regina in the yard." Belle explained without divulging details.

"What did it say?" Ruby pushed her forward, slightly irritated that she'd only now remembered a vital piece of information in that big, beautiful brain of hers. Belle readjusted her head and shivered. Ruby reached behind her and retrieved the blanket as her lover collected the information.

"I don't know the exact nature of their relationship, but Rumpel and Pan crossed paths back before he became The Dark One. Neverland is a magical land. It's magic comes from the belief in magic, sort of like a magical hub for all magic for all the realms in existence. It was prophesied that people would eventually stop believing in magic.

"Neverland, however, might be spared if it's fulfilled. There were no details of what exactly the prophesy entailed." Belle finished and tipped her head towards Ruby's.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything. It just didn't seem pertinent to the mission," Belle explained, and Ruby tangled her fingers in frizzy brown hair.

"It isn't really. That's all it said?" Belle nodded. "You do know that's nothing that states Pan is more powerful than the sorceress who cast The Dark Curse. Regina might be the most powerful magical being that's ever lived." Ruby defended her friend's honor, not sure why she felt the need to do so.

"Ruby, stop enabling her. You know she's destroying herself. Everything she's done to redeem herself is being undone by her obsession of gaining more power. Isn't that how it started? She wanted enough power to be free, to bring back that man in the barn, to protect herself. It left her a broken shell of a woman who had to curse herself into a world where no one knew who she was for 28 years just to heal enough to be considered human when that curse broke. It's happening again without her love for Emma." She pushed reality at Ruby with little hope for a positive result.

"I'll talk to her, Baby, but I don't think we need to worry. She'd never hurt us. She's changed. I think she can handle the magic as long as she has Emma to focus on." Ruby dismissed her concerned. Belle breathed a frustrated sigh through her nose.

"Hey," Ruby cupped her face and pushed her chin up with the tip of her thumb. "There are much better things we could be doing with out mouths right now," Ruby said suggestively, and Belle fought her grin. She knew Ruby distracted her, and she loathed that it worked.

"Ruby Lucas, you are incorri…" She squeaked and then hummed when Ruby's mouth collided with hers mid-sentence, effectively shutting her up.

She sank into the comfort of the slow kiss, and thoughts of Regina and magic drifted far from her. Her body still felt like jell-o, and tears lurked just behind her eyes, waiting to spring forward at any moment. The last two things she wanted to think or talk about were Rumpel and Regina.

Ruby pushed her back on the bed, one hand beneath her neck and the other tracing a soothing thumb against her ribs and the underside of her breast. She nudged Belle's thighs apart with her knee and slipped her own between them. Belle's fingers slid across the bumpy white scar line on her ribs, and she shivered. Though the memory of Cora slicing into her flashed into her mind, Belle's soft hand and addicting lips peeled it away slowly and stomped it into the ground.

They hadn't a clue how long they'd spent wrapped up in each other, but by the time they made it to the kitchen for coffee, Regina sat with a plate full of food that she shouldn't have been eating. Belle clicked her tongue at the cheeseburger and fries but held her tongue as she poured two cups of coffee.

"Miss French, have you something to say?" Regina asked and bit into the burger.

"No, I haven't. When you're stomach feels as though it's exploding and the contents are tasted the second time in reverse, perhaps you'll think better of dismissing the diet plan I've constructed for you." Belle shrugged as she leaned against the counter and raised the mug to her lips with both hands.

"I'll take note of your colorful description of my future, and should it come to pass, I'll return to your suggested diet. Magic use and consumption depletes iron." Regina shrugged and chomped into the burger again. It was crude and indelicate, and she loved every second of it. Her body felt fine, and she was tired of being hungry all the time. Screw Belle's diet plan. She was fine.

"You've got three to five minutes. Excuse me if I'm not here to witness the indignity of you losing your lunch into the sink or trashcan," Belle said nonchalantly and grabbed both mugs of coffee.

She made it three steps before Regina stumbled from the stool and hung her head over the trash. Belle wrinkled her nose at the scent and sound. She took another step towards the door, stopped, sighed, set the mugs on the island.

"Or three to five seconds," she muttered sardonically and began pulling herbs out of the cabinet. The tea kettle banged loudly enough to bring Ruby into the kitchen with a worried brow furrowed into her youthful face. Belle ignored her as the wolf moved to Regina and rubbed her back.

She presented the mint and honey tea to the sick woman without comment and settled against the counter by the stove with her coffee held in both hands in front of her face. Regina allowed Ruby's comfort as she plopped onto the stool and pushed away the plate of food. She fixed Belle with a cold glare of wounded pride.

"There's no possible way you could have known that," Regina rasped angrily. Belle shrugged.

"You forget, Majesty, it was done to me once before, only for much longer. The difference being I didn't have a bunch of medical research and someone knowledgeable of the subject to assist my recovery," Belle slapped down darkly as she retrieved from the fridge the small meal of two hardboiled eggs and a handful of berries and apple slices she'd pre-made the other woman.

She flung the container across the island at the other woman and left without further comment. Ruby glanced between her partner and her best friend. Regina hung her head, obviously stung by Belle's words. They'd been harsh, but they'd been right. Regina behaved as The Evil Queen might have behaved, not their Regina. She clenched her jaws as she made the difficult decision.

"You owe her an apology," Ruby gritted angrily. "Damn it, Regina. I love you. Henry loves you. I think even Belle was beginning to love you. Emma loves you. Get off your cross before you have no one left. We're leaving tomorrow, and we are bringing Emma home." She softened when Regina's head stayed down, shoulders coiled with tension.

"I can't even imagine what you're going through. I imagine it feels like not having your heart but much worst. An emptiness that will never heal. You won't fill that void with magic, not the kind you're trying replace true love with anyway." She touched Regina's shoulder and then chased after Belle. If Regina still felt guilt, she wasn't doomed, not yet anyway.

She finally found her on the front stoop staring into her coffee. She lowered herself gingerly, mindful of her stretching and pulling stomach, and rubbed her back. Belle tensed, sipped her coffee, relaxed into her lover's touch.

"I'm proud of you," Ruby said suddenly, and Belle's eyes jerked to hers. "Not everyone would have had the guts to call her out on her behavior like that. I know she's struggling without Emma to keep her magic in check and help her rediscover her love, but it doesn't excuse becoming someone who ignores her child and treats her friends like shit. I didn't have the guts to say it, but you did."

Belle smiled shyly up at Ruby, ears burning with the worshipful tone of her partner's praise. Ruby smirk at the endearing insecurity lurking in those icy blue eyes and scooted closer. Belle leaned into her side and laced her fingers with those hanging over her collarbone.

"You come first, Belle." She gently kissed her bruised temple and nuzzled her nose into frizzy brown hair that hadn't been tamed yet. "I will always chase after you," she vowed.

"Bring them home, Ruby Lucas."


	19. Welcome to Neverland

This chapter was quite fun. I know, I know. Bring back the love, but damn it, the dark is so much fun. Have faith, My Doves, and trust me. I've brought you this far!

Also, I kept some of the original dialogue because it's just too damn brilliant and ingenious.

Songs: And We Run by Within Temptation, Iodine by Icon for Hire

* * *

The harsh Maine wind swept off the ocean and bit at their cheeks. A small group braved the bitter morning and gathered at the docks to see Regina and her team off to Neverland. Granny crossed her arms over hr abundant chest tightly, holding herself together. She'd raised a hero, and now the consequences of that were hers to endure. Henry clung to his mother's waist, face clear of all of the emotions that should have been displayed. Belle shivered beneath Ruby's red cloak that had been wrapped around her shoulders the moment the wolf realized her partner's chill. She clutched it tighter, knowing she'd be forced to return it in a few short moments.

Snow and David touched her shoulder, kissed Henry's head and boarded the ship. Ruby hugged her grandmother. She couldn't hear what they said to each other, but she imagined it was clipped and stoic as both women were uncomfortable with expressing weakness. To cry would have been a bigger disservice to their pride and soul than a reserved departure. She on the other hand was very in touch with her emotions. Tears burned her throat, and she swallowed them as best she could.

"Miss French," a raspy voice caught her attention, and reluctantly she turned her gaze to Regina.

"Regina," she nodded and pulled Ruby's cloak tighter, her only protection against the confusing and painful emotions surrounding the sorceress.

"Thank you," Regina said quietly and averted her eyes to Henry and Ruby as they performed some sort of secret handshake before howling at the sky. A faint smile graced their lips.

"For what?" Belle clipped, really not wanting to have this conversation right now. Regina cleared her throat and flipped her hair as the wind blew it into her face.

"Your assistance with my recovery, to start, and holding Emma together and taking care of Henry during my captivity. I now find that I am further indebted to you. I couldn't have left Henry in more capable or trusted hands next to mine and Emma's." Regina crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her head regally, clearly uncomfortable with the confession.

After their bickering in the kitchen, Regina kept her distance for the remainder of the day, allowing her and Ruby the alone time they so desperately needed. They'd just been reunited after a month long separation, and now she required Ruby's assistance in another realm. She asked them to live apart for an undetermined amount of time with no contact, no way to know if the other still lived and breathed. She rested, recovered, ate the pre-made meals in the refrigerator and waited.

Ruby still hadn't recovered to full strength, but she decided to bump their timeline and wouldn't be deterred. She wanted this over as quickly as possible, longed for the day when she and Belle took that camping trip, came together as Emma and Regina once had. She left because she loved Emma and because she had to go, but that never meant she wanted the responsibility.

"You're welcome," Belle answered and also dropped her gaze. "I'll keep him safe. I'll use magic if I have to. I'd appreciate that remaining between us for now. I haven't told Ruby yet, had hoped that I'd never have to, but Henry won't stay quiet forever." Belle straightened her back and stretched the fabric of the cloak as far as it would go in attempt to get it tighter around her body.

"Just… bring her back, Regina. Bring them all back. Remember, three more days of the fruit and eggs. You should be free to eat as you choose after that, barring anything processed. I don't know what supplies have been packed, but try to stick with raw fruit and vegetables and white meats for now. Small amounts of meat and vegetables because they're harder to digest. You'll be fine." Belle babbled anxiously, confused by Regina sudden friendliness. And it was Regina, not who she'd been for the past few days.

"Belle, I will never be The Evil Queen again, not completely, not where innocents are concerned. I need her constitution to save Emma. Please believe me when I say that I never truly understood what you endured until I found myself suffering from severe starvation, and I have never been more remorseful than I am now. But it is not an emotion that will help me bring Emma home, so it must be severed. Do you understand?" Belle jerked at the soft tone she hadn't heard since Regina held her in the back seat of the car. Regina was still in there, just hidden beneath the thick impenetrable layers of anger and vengeance. The Evil Queen allowed her to peep out and say goodbye, easing Belle's fear for Ruby's safety.

"Make sure you can bring yourself home, too, Regina," Belle warned, too floored by Regina's heartfelt apology to say more. Regina nodded and returned to her son, effectively switching places with Ruby.

"Baby," Ruby whispered as she brushed her fingertips over her temples and into her hair. Belle collapsed into Ruby's arms and swallowed every couple seconds to keep the burning in her throat away as she fought her tears. Ruby needed to know that she was strong and ready to be without her again. If she broke down, Ruby left with the added worry of her and Henry's well-being.

"You can cry if you want," Ruby whispered into her hair and hid her face from the crowd. She sniffed, and Belle covered their heads with the cloak, giving Ruby what privacy she could. Strength and protectiveness swelled in her chest, and her own tears dried as Ruby's fell freely onto her neck. If Belle had broken first, the shield of heroism would have slipped onto her heart, giving her the robust explosion of courage instead of Belle.

"Ruby, you have to go," Belle said when the tears calmed. Ruby nodded.

"I'll bring them home, Baby. I love you," Ruby whispered harshly, still fighting the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. "I love you more than anything in this world or any other. I'm coming home. I promise. Stay strong for me. Stay strong for Henry. One day, we won't have to keep chasing each other down." Ruby babbled, stalling.

Belle smiled and secured the hood around Ruby's shoulders, shivering into the biting air.

"Ruby," Belle caught her attention. Ruby stopped babbling and met her gaze. Her smiled grew, reaching her bright blue eyes.

"It's time to go be a big damn hero," Belle said quietly with more conviction than she felt. She wanted Ruby here with her, but Ruby needed this reassurance.

"You and Henry should watch Firefly while we're gone," Ruby chuckled, a smile lingering on her lips. "Don't worry, Kaylee, I'll keep an eye on River." Belle snorted.

"She'd singe your fur if she knew you called her that." Belle said with a mischievous glint in her eye. Ruby bit her bottom lip and snorted.

"Nah, she'd just kill me with her brain," Ruby countered, smile spreading until it ached. They glanced towards Regina and startled the group when they laughed out loud.

"Go get your Mal, Zoe," Belle said when they calmed, and Ruby nodded with a smile.

She pulled Belle's hips into her thighs and towered over her as they brought their lips together. Belle stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around Ruby's neck like a life preserver, and Ruby bent her knees slightly as her long arms slid around Belle's waist and ribs. She winced at the added pressure on the puncture wound on her side and then squeezed tighter, ignoring the uncomfortable twinge. They parted breathlessly but remained in the embrace.

"We're big damn heroes," Ruby whispered and pressed her forehead to Belle's.

"Big damn heroes," Belle agreed. "I love you, Ruby Lucas."

"I love you more," Ruby whispered, pressed a kiss onto her lips and then bolted for the ship before tears overwhelmed her again.

"I doubt that," Belle countered, the words audible only to her own ears.

The roar of the portal surrounded them. Henry pressed into her side, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Granny's leather palm slid into her other hand. Belle's chest heaved with the effort of holding back her tears as Ruby waved from the side of the ship. Regina touched her shoulder supportively. Granny and Henry waved. Then they were gone.

Belle's head bowed as the portal closed. A shrill emotional gasp puffed against her chest as the dam finally broke and loosed the monsoon of tears she'd held in since her eyes opened that morning. Henry squeezed her waist painfully and laid his head on her chest as his own tears fell.

"Come here, Girl," Granny said and pulled Belle's head to her shoulder, wrapping both her and Henry in a hug only grandmothers gave. She fisted the rough wool of Granny's sweater and allowed the older woman to hold her until her tears dried.

On some level, she knew Granny comforted her because the desire to break down gouged at her own heart. Ruby was her whole world. Regina was like a daughter to her. Emma was a highly respected and loved friend and would have been the woman she walked Regina to when they married. So she was like a daughter, too. They were losing lovers and mothers and friends to this mission, but Granny stepped back and granted her children the freedom to chase after each other as they wished without judgment or protest.

She held her fourth daughter and grandson in her arms and helped extinguish the acute grief caused by letting someone they love leave them willingly. She knew that sacrifice, and she vowed to help Belle and Henry cope.

"How about I make you two some pancakes and bacon at the diner. You can help me out today. Hm?" She glanced between the two wet faces expectantly.

Belle hiccupped and nodded, not really caring for the thought of being separated from the only two remaining family members in this realm. She almost wished in that moment that she and her father might have reconciled, but it was impossible. If her family only knew the complete truth behind his attempt to erase all of her memories of The Enchanted Forest, she doubted such loving gazes would have filled their eyes.

"Come on then," Granny huffed. Belle and Henry smiled. She was a softie at heart.

"Holy Shit! That's a lot of fucking water." Ruby yelled as the portal crashed around them. She wrapped her arm in a rope and held tight. Regina mimicked her motion and stood stoically at her side.

"Suck it up, Wolf," Regina chided with a raised eyebrow.

Miraculously, they stayed dry in the portal, but Ruby's skin crawled with pent up adrenaline and anxiety. Her arm shot out involuntarily as panic grabbed her heart.

"Regina." She reached for her friend as they neared the other side.

Regina stood calmly and squeezed the terrified woman's hand. She clamped down on the urge to throw a snippy and condescending comment at the wolf's obvious display of terror. Regina wouldn't have humiliated her friend in such a manner when she already recognized the tinge of embarrassment in the wolf's flushed cheeks at her fear, but The Evil Queen wanted her to. She shivered. How the hell was she supposed to live two identities and not go insane?

They surfaced on the other side, and Ruby stumbled when the ship slapped down on the calm waters. Deep, steadying breaths expanded her chest and rushed through her nostrils. The rapid intake of oxygen jellied her arms and legs, and she stumbled again, head spinning. Regina's hand and the friction of the rope around her arm kept her upright, and she forced slower breaths into her lungs until her pounding heart and fuzzy mind settled.

"Will you survive, Miss Lucas?" Regina asked, pulling her back to reality. It wasn't mean but it wasn't kind either.

"I can't swim," she confessed sheepishly and released the death grip on Regina's hand.

"I thought all dogs enjoyed water," Regina barbed absently and untangled her hand from the rope.

"Yeah, well, this mutt has never done anything beyond the doggie paddle in the kiddy pool," Ruby volleyed acerbically.

"Ladies, welcome to Neverland," Hooked called from the helm. He winked at them, and Ruby stiffened.

"Captain, unless you desire to have your eyes burned out with hot coals, you'll do well to keep them averted from Miss Lucas," Regina threatened and took two steps between him and the wolf.

Fire crackled at her fingertips. Hook swallowed and dropped his gaze. Ruby's spine straightened and a deep cleansing breath settled the last of her nerves. It wasn't quite Regina speaking, but the sentiment was undoubtedly that of her best friend.

"Regina, it's okay," Ruby whispered and adjusted her shoulder. "I need you to help me with something."

The flames extinguished, and Regina whirled with a raised eyebrow. Ruby took another deep breath.

"I need to see how the magic here will affect my wolf. I'm going to take my cloak off. If I freak out, stop me from hurting someone." Ruby ordered. Regina nodded, satisfied that Ruby fell easily into her roll as warrior. Without her wolf, though, she was practically useless aside from distraction and moral support, a liability.

Brown eyes locked. Ruby set her resolve and untied the string at her throat. With a steadying breath, she pushed it from her shoulders, letting crumple into a pile at her feet. Everyone tensed when nothing immediately occurred. Ruby squinted at her hands, waiting for that familiar rush of anger and power racing beneath her skin. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she returned her gaze to Regina's.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know my wolf…" The apology halted as Ruby gasped and doubled over in pain.

Her spine straightened a moment later and then bent backwards slightly. Ruby's arms floated dangerously at her side, face thrown up towards the sky. A violent surge of strength and energy rocked her body, and her arms flew out in an image of supplication as a scream tore from her throat. It felt as though she were changing to wolf form, but she remained upright and bipedal despite the rearranging molecules in her arms and legs.

Claws shot from her fingertips. Veins popped and rippled in her arms and chest. The skin of her face stretched tight as her skull thickened. The throb of her puncture wound lessened, and she jerked her shirt up and ripped the gauze from her stomach, not even bothered by the tearing of tape from her flesh. Everyone stared in awe as the wound became smaller and smaller, her wolf's healing made almost instantaneous as the intense magic flowed into her. In less than a minute, it was nothing but a raised bump of white scar tissue.

Yellow eyes jerked to Regina's awestruck face. This was the soldier she'd longed for, the perfect warrior. Practically invincible with werewolf's DNA and superhuman strength and a big beautiful heart that held unwavering fealty to her and her mission.

"Ruby," she breathed. A tug of arousal pulled into her stomach. She ignored it. It was The Evil Queen lusting for her soldiers once more, not Regina reacting to the revelation that her friend was the key to saving Emma.

Ruby's pupils dilated as the scent of Regina's arousal filled her up. Without thought, she grabbed the woman's face and smashed their lips together. Snow, David and Hook stared with slack jaws at the graphic display of affection. Ruby jerked back without releasing Regina's face, tipped her head towards the sky and howled.

She jumped back bodily, nearly tripping over her cloak in the haste to remove herself from Regina's instinctual embrace. Her eyes flickered brown and yellow as she fought for control of her wolf. Finally, one settled into the warm milk chocolate of Ruby Lucas and the other glowed a bright yellow of the wolf. Ruby breathed heavily. Everyone stared.

"Whoo!" Ruby shouted and then punched at the air faster than humanly and even wolfly possible, at least in the other two realms she'd been in.

"Whoa Mama!" She stared at her hands and then glanced around the ship.

Regina flinched when Ruby sprinted by her in a literal blur of amped up werewolf. She crossed the deck in less than a second, kicked off the side of rail, back flipped, landed in a crouch with one hand out to the side and the fingertips of the other resting on the deck. She propelled forward and leapt onto the high deck where the hull was situated, made a wide arch around Hook and then jumped from the other side.

She caught a rope on the mast with one hand, using the momentum of her body to swing her towards the other side of the ship. She released the rope at the last possible second, somersaulted through the air and landed gracefully on the other side of the ship a few feet from an astonished and stupidly staring Snow and David.

"Yeah!" Ruby jumped up and punched the air again. "I'm mother fucking Xena Warrior Princess!" She stared at her hands for a moment and then breathlessly caught Regina's gaze. She crossed to her friend at a much more reserved pace, though the call of her wolf pounded against the inside of skin. It ached to be released again. Regina tensed when she was only a foot away, and Ruby froze.

"I'm not going to kiss you again," she blurted. "Sorry about that. I just… you know what, probably best to tell you why later. Please don't tell Belle. I just didn't have control yet. It's like…" she held her hands up and studied them in the moonlight. Veins throbbed and rippled in her arms like a ramped up body builder.

"It's like I'm in wolf form, but I'm still human here. Like there's no separation between the wolf and the woman. My god," she breathed and held her face towards the sky.

"This is almost better than sex. This is better than sex with anyone but Belle. Good thing she didn't come or you wouldn't see us for days. God, the things that woman could do to me like this." Ruby stared at her hands again, and Regina cleared her throat.

"Very well, Miss Lucas. Now that you've gained a modicum of control, are you comfortable remaining this way or would you care for your cape?" Regina asked, not quite sure how to follow Ruby's display of physical superiority and lustful confession with words.

She was grateful for Ruby's obvious loyalty to her lover; otherwise, without her love for Emma, she herself might have disappeared for a few days with the buckets of sexual energy flowing from her best friend. She made a careful note not to let The Evil Queen or anyone else take advantage of Ruby in her obviously compromised state despite the blatant physical strength. The wolf's heightened sense of smell had detected the sliver of arousal the moment it happened. It had barely been enough to encourage wetness between her thighs, and certainly not enough to overcome her senses and kiss Ruby with such passion.

Though she no longer worried about the woman's physical wellbeing, she vowed not to let anyone take advantage of her heightened senses.

The moment was cut short by the sudden quaking of the ship. Hook stumbled from the wheel with a grunt. He scrambled to his feet and took control of the wildly spinning vessel. Regina grabbed a line and Ruby's arm. The wolf stood solid against the violent movements of the vessel.

"Get control of your ship, Pirate!" David called.

"It's not me, Mate," Hook said through clenched teeth. He was concerned, and that was never a good sign with such an experienced and confident captain.

The ship quivered and tilted with the force of whatever slammed against the side near the bottom. Regina stumbled, and Ruby caught her around the waist with one arm. They peered over the side as one. Regina released the rope, giving her body wholly to Ruby's quite capable arms, and Ruby wrapped her free arm in it in case she lost balance, though she doubted that possibility. She pressed her hand into Regina stomach as the queen leaned over further and squinted at something in the water.

"What the hell?" It looked like people attacking the ship. She lost her balance when at least a dozen strong tails smacked the ship again. Ruby lifted her from the ground and pulled her away from the edge.

"Mermaids?" She asked Hook, irritated that the man hadn't spoken of the existence of mermaids in Neverland. One or two were dangerous enough, and this was an entire village.

The ship tipped again, sending them all flying except for Ruby and Regina. Ruby stumbled two steps and then spread her legs wide and bobbed with the movement of the tilted deck with Regina tucked tightly against her. The sheer power of the grip astounded the fumbling witch.

"Hook, grab that helm!" Ruby shouted and then jerked Regina with her to the other end of the ship where the small canons sat atop the solid rail.

"Charming, find your feet!" She shouted, slipping easily into Commander Red. The man pushed forward, inspired by Ruby's quick action and unwavering strength.

"I will not be capsized by fish," she muttered as she deposited Regina in a heap by the rail. The sorceress huffed indignantly at the child-like treatment but said nothing as she found her feet.

David loaded the canon and aimed it towards the water blindly. Ruby searched the dark depths with heightened, multicolored eyes and adjusted the position slowly, following something no one else could see. The explosion of the canon was followed by a high-pitched squall of pain from beneath the surface. Her aim had been true. She grinned darkly in triumph.

"I got one!" Snow yelled, and Ruby's eyes followed the sound. She jumped the raised platform in the center of the deck and snagged the rope.

"One! There are dozens!" Regina yelled. Anger flared in heart.

"Enough of this," The Evil Queen uttered dangerously and lit a fireball.

"Fish for dinner," Ruby responded to the resulting cries of anguish her queen caused beneath the surface. Her rage reached for Regina's, and she gave one final tug of the rope. The mermaid flopped onto the deck and struggled in vain.

The boat shook again. Ruby sprinted with her new wolf's speed and snagged Regina's waist as she tumbled forward. Regina gasped in shock as her body suddenly stabilized. Ruby grinned wickedly at her when she glanced over her shoulder. They spoke without words. Regina fried and Ruby stabilized. Together they made the perfect team, and the combination of their combined rage without the soothing influence of their partners created the perfect poison.

"Fry them, My Queen," Ruby whispered into her ear, an excited glint in her eyes. Regina shivered and flung fire into the water, reveling in the screams.

Ruby spun her in the other direction in a perfect pirouette. Her vision whipped and then refocused from the force of the twirl. Fire flew into the water in a continuous stream from Regina's palms. Haunting and heady screams of anguish surrounded her. The arm on her waist tightened, fingertips digging into her ribs, and Ruby's hot excited breath puffed onto the back of her neck.

The fire faded. The water and air calmed. Ruby and Regina heaved in the center of the ship. Ruby's free arm floated dangerously at her side, still primed for action. A trembling hand slid up the tight forearm around the other woman, and another wrapped around Ruby's coiled thigh just below the curve of her ass, sending twin shivers into the two dark souls. Two sets of dark eyes turned to the mermaid flopping on the deck.

"And only one remains," Regina commented with an amused smirk.

"Kill her," Ruby encouraged into her ear. Regina shivered and flicked her wrist, conjuring a fireball instantly.

"Wait!" Snow yelled and stepped between Regina and the mermaid.

"Snow, move out of the way," Regina threatened, her voice lilting as though she spoke to a child.

"No! We're not killers," Snow reasoned, hoping beyond hope that her words jarred Regina from the adrenaline and rage induced haze that she and Ruby had fallen into.

"Speak for yourself," Ruby tossed at the scared woman. She and Regina locked eyes in a violent gaze of kinship. The hand on Ruby's thigh tightened, and the wolf's nostrils flared as the scent of fading adrenaline morphed into sheer arousal.

The women jerked when something slammed into Ruby's back. Regina whipped around to find David barely containing a struggling Ruby beneath her cloak. She stepped forward menacingly and aimed her hand of fire at Emma's father. He dropped the other woman and backed away with his hands up in a placating gesture. Ruby's head emerged from the red fabric, eyes a calm and horrified brown.

They all jumped when a bugle-type sound echoed into the night. Charming jerked a huge conk shell from the mermaid's hand, suddenly filled with an uncontrollable anger of his own. Ruby shakily found her feet, unable to meet Regina's eyes. Her rage may have been quelled, but The Evil Queen's boiled and spewed hotly onto her soul, sizzling with each bubble.

"What is this?" He demanded.

The mermaid smiled. Thunder and lightening crashed above them as storm clouds moved at an alarming and unnatural clip. She conjured a sea storm.

"Now may I kill her?" Regina snarked at Snow.

"No. We should release her. A sign of good faith, and maybe she'll stop the storm." Snow spurted in her irritatingly optimistic way. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Or she comes back with her friends to kill us!" Regina yelled, completely fed up with everyone around them constantly trying to be kind and compassionate and having it bite them in the ass.

"I don't need to kill you. You'll kill yourselves," the mermaid said with a satisfied smirk. Regina gritted her teeth.

"Hold on! I'm turning around. The Jolly Roger and I have outrun many a storm," Hook informed them with a loving tone for his ship's abilities.

The ship lurched, and they all stumbled. Charming drew his sword and held it at the mermaid's throat.

"Stop this!" He demanded. Excitement grew in Regina's chest when she thought the man might actually kill the sea creature.

"That's more like it, Charming. Filet the bitch," Regina sneered as she stepped beside the surprisingly evil-looking man. He pressed on the sword and glanced at his wife, wanting to share this moment with her. Snow's horrified expression halted his movements.

"No, we're not barbarians." He said, more to himself than her. She rolled her eyes.

"Guys stop," Ruby pleaded behind them. It went unheard.

"Would you blighters stop pissing the off the mermaid!" Hook shouted angrily.

"Just let me kill her!" Regina shouted at the Charming idiots.

"No, we have to let her go. Maybe they're just scared of Pan and recognized Hook's ship. It's our best chance," Snow firmly stated her case.

"Snow, rainbow kiss and unicorn stickers aren't going to fix this, Dear," The Evil Queen snapped, reaching her breaking point. The ship lurched into a wave. Lightening flashed down, and Regina waved her hand over the mermaid, smirking at the beautifully ornate wooden statue she created.

"Regina! What the hell is wrong with you!" Snow demanded.

She was saved from Regina's retort by the giant wave that sprang up suddenly. They all stared for a moment in awe of the unstoppable force of nature. Brown eyes locked, and Regina sprang into action.

"Ruby!"

She grabbed the wobbling wolf's arm and shoved her into the tangle of ropes at the bottom of the mast. She covered Ruby's weakened body with her own and clutched the rope in front of Ruby stomach. The wolf's hands joined hers on the lifeline as the wave crashed into them. They held tight, grunting with the effort of staying connected to the ship.

They evened out on the water, but the ship lurched and tilted, jerking unnervingly.

"Hook!" Charming warned.

"It's the ship, Mate! We're taking on water." Hook called down, clearly irritated.

"You're absolutely useless, Pirate," Regina sniped.

"It's not his fault, Regina!" Snow defended the man. "He's doing the best he can!" Thunder cracked and waves crashed, jostling the ship.

"Please stop, guys, you're making it worst," Ruby pleaded. Her eyes met the mermaids and knew in that moment that she conjured the storm, but they controlled it.

"The best he can?" Regina scoffed. "The best he can! His best is a nightmare or don't you remember my mother terrorizing Storybrooke. He beat and tortured Ruby. _That_ is his best?" Regina pushed Snow into the mast as she charged the captain.

He grunted when her fist connected solidly with his jaw. Ruby covered her sensitive ears against the overwhelming boom of thunder.

"And you want our daughter married to that!" He pointed an accusing finger at his wife.

"Oh, that is not the reason, David, and you know it!" Snow screamed at her husband.

"Guys stop!" Ruby yelled vainly.

"She's insane, Snow! And you want Emma chained to her for the rest of her life!" David countered, stepping dangerously towards his wife.

"You're a bigot, David! You can't handle the fact that Emma found true love in a woman. A woman! It has nothing to do with The Evil Queen." Snow poked his chest.

Ruby towards them, intending to stop the pending fist fight before it happened. The ship lurched. She stumbled, her foot catching on a coil of rope. She fought for balance, but her cloak stopped her wolf's natural grace from saving her. Fear gripped her heart as she toppled over the railing.

"Regina!" She screamed, but the last half of the name was muffled by cold salty water.

She flailed, broke the surface, gulped air, sunk. Panic gripped her chest, and adrenaline set her heart pounding. Arms and legs kicked, but between the paralyzing fear and her lack of successful experience swimming, she dropped further beneath the surface. Her eyes drifted shut and her arms stilled an explosion of someone else entering the water above her swirled her body.

Firm hands wrapped around her waist, and a slim body pressed into her back. She sputtered as they broke the surface, and Ruby trusted whoever held her to keep her above the clammy water.

"You're okay, Wolf," Regina whispered into her ear. "Hold your breath."

They magic flashed onto the deck, and Regina propped her up against her chest. She coughed and spit water, fighting the sudden urge to vomit and gagging as the water filling her throat dislodged and flew from her mouth. Regina squeezed her waist and pressed her cheek into her wet hair.

It became blaringly obvious what had happened, and it irritated Regina further. The mermaid called a storm that fed on their emotions. The more they fought, the more they wanted to fight, and the stronger the storm became. Now, as they all gathered around the one person no one had a qualm with and looked around at each other, the storm calmed in the unity of their concern for the young wolf.

Neverland had given them their first test, and they failed miserably. They had to do better.

Emma's life depended on it.


	20. I Believe

This was the most heart wrenching chapter I've written so far, and hopefully it shines some light on where I'm headed. But damn… it made me sob.

So, enjoy Lovelies, and leave me some love.

Songs: Off with Her Head by Icon for Hire, The Story by Sara Ramirez, What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts

* * *

Ruby pulled her cloak around her more tightly, bracing herself against a shiver. They'd settled down and made camp for the night since she and Regina were wet and shaking from the cold. She might have sat by the fire if she and Regina hadn't done what they did during the fight. While it was a necessary evil, it left the tangy taste of acid in her mouth.

She sighed and stared towards the fire forlornly, too far away to feel its heat. Regina sat on a long in front of it and rested her elbows on her knees. David and Snow accompanied Hook on his scouting mission and left them drying out at their campsite. It was cold, and Ruby's wet denim jeans exacerbated the feeling. She huffed a sigh and stood, crossing to the log.

Regina scooted to one end as she sat and held her hands out to the heat source. She glanced at Regina's down turned eyes. They both felt the repercussions of their actions, perhaps Regina more than her. Regina had been in complete control despite the influence of adrenaline and fear. She'd had none whatsoever before David wrapped her up in her cloak.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Regina rasped quietly, her voice too thick with emotion to be pushed from her mouth with more strength.

"That can't happen again. I had no control, Regina. I have to trust that you won't take advantage of that. As a warrior and as a woman. You may not be able to love Emma, but I love Belle. I'm telling you right now that I don't want to be with anyone else but her. If things had continued the way they were heading earlier, I'd have betrayed her and myself and ended up hating you. It would have been no different than what Hook did. I wasn't in control, Regina." Ruby's chin fell to her chest. The air felt lighter between them now that she'd said what needed to be said.

Regina's brow furrowed when Ruby shivered and clutched her cloak tighter to trap her body's heat. She slid towards Ruby and tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Ruby tensed and jerked from her touch. Regina held up her hands innocently.

"As a friend, Ruby. You're freezing. I'm practically dry from the fire. May I?" She gestured between them and waited. Ruby nodded and leaned into Regina's warmth, sighing when their combined heat knocked the edge off of her shivers.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Regina said again and rubbed arm over her cloak, generating friction heat.

"It can't happen again. I might lose control more than a few times, Regina. This place… it's powerful. I know you feel it, too. You have to." Ruby's voice was quiet and deep but trusting. Regina bowed her head. She hadn't messed up their friendship.

"It won't happen again, Ruby. Your wolf surprised everyone. I'll be prepared for it next time and exhibit better control of my actions," Regina promised sincerely.

Ruby melted into the embrace as the last of her reservations slipped away in the quiet moment. Regina was with her, not The Evil Queen, and she trusted Regina. She jerked when flames appeared in front of her chest and glanced up at Regina with questioning eyes.

"You're cold," Regina said with a shrug as if it explained everything.

The heat from the flaming ball seeped into her, and she relaxed again. Regina twirled her finger and the orb split into two pieces. The twin floated around her and pressed close to her back, heating her from both sides. She trusted Regina wouldn't set her on fire accidentally. Thoroughly heated, Ruby finally turned her thoughts to their situation.

"How are we going to find Emma? We have no idea where we're going, and it's not as though we have road signs in the jungle to tell us if we're going in circles or not." Ruby asked, frustrated by her helplessness.

"Perhaps I can help with that," an accented voice called from behind them.

Both women shot to their feet. Regina's fire ball slammed together in sparks just above her hand. She aimed it at the teenage boy smirking at their surprise.

"Who are you?" Regina demanded. Movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, and she acknowledged Ruby's hands at the string of her cloak. She was with her, at her side as loyal and stupidly brave as ever.

"Peter Pan," the boy said. He dodged Regina's fire ball easily, and she conjured another.

"Come now, Regina. I'm here to tell you where Emma's being held. You wouldn't kill the messenger, would you?" He taunted her, and she allowed him for Emma's sake and closed her fist, extinguishing the flame in a show of good faith.

"That's what I thought." He smirked. Regina gritted her teeth.

"She's in Echo Cave. Captain Jones knows that way. If he survives." Pan said with a glint of sick glee in his eyes. "Oh, one more thing. She can't be freed with magic." He disappeared. Regina squinted into the darkness.

"Ruby, take off your hood," Regina ordered and took off in the direction the scouting party had gone.

Ruby dropped the cape onto the log and waited for her transformation, knowing she'd catch Regina easily. Power and rage surged into her veins, and she braced herself, ready for the pain. When it ceased, she followed Regina and fell into step beside her a few seconds later. Relying on smell and hearing, she guided them towards the battle, and Regina trusted her perfect warrior to get them there.

They topped a large hill, Ruby calm and confident and Regina puffing with the effort of maintain Ruby's speed. Hook, David, and Snow were surrounded at the bottom by a bunch of teenagers in dirty clothes and very sharp stone weapons or clubs. Ruby sprinted down the steep banks easily. Regina conjured magic from the top and covered Ruby's descent, sending arrows and boys flying away from the wolf as she clawed and scratched a path to the center of the fray.

"Careful, Love! Their weapons are laced with poison!" Hook warned and blocked another sword swipe from a large boy with scraggy dreadlocks.

Ruby caught an arrow at the side of her head and growled before flinging it back at the boy who loosed it. It buried into his chest, knocking him off his feet with the force. She howled and charged into the group, feeling that same tug of combined rage when a few of them flew back with the force of Regina's magic. Even from afar, she protected her wolf.

"Mary Margaret!" David squalled and pushed her out of the way of an arrow. It hit his jacket, but he assured them his flesh hadn't been touched.

Ruby smelled his blood, knew he lied, buried her hand into the chest of a young boy in anger at the knowledge. It came free bloody and with chunks of flesh. She ignored the pull of her conscience and whirled towards the other three soldiers in time to catch an arrow in the gut. The battle paused as the obviously larger than life wolf was cut down by a simple arrow laced with poison. She grinned at the scared boy with the boy. He clearly hadn't expected to hit her.

"Ruby!" Regina's voice vibrated, telling the wolf she descended the hill after her. A blast of magic sent their attackers flying haphazardly through the air. Regina hadn't been out for blood before, and when one child fell to the ground in a crispy heap, the remaining child soldiers of Pan's army retreated.

Ruby pulled the arrow from her stomach and tossed it to the ground. The wound spurted blooded a moment before the itch of instantaneous wolf's healing burned in her belly. Had she been in The Enchanted Forest or Storybrooke, the injury would have hospitalized her. In Neverland, she simply raised her shirt and watched the healing force from the outside, feelings her stomach and organs repairing from the inside. It was an incredibly strange sensation, to actually feel her own body heal itself.

"I'm good," Ruby said. "It's just a scar now." Her eyes met Regina's a moment before the witch stumbled into and covered the small patch of blood with her hand.

"The poison?" She asked, eyes scared. Perhaps her wolf wasn't as invincible as she thought.

"Ineffective, My Queen." Ruby grinned wickedly. "Nothing in Neverland can stop me," she informed the witch, excitement in her brown and yellow eyes.

David, Snow and Hook twitched uncomfortably. They held their weapons at the ready in case the situation of Ruby and Regina's destruction on the ship repeated. Regina stepped away from the heady energy rippling and rolling around the wolf. She took a deep breath.

"Regina, Ruby. My name is Regina. I am not your queen. I am your friend," she gently reminded the woman possessed by a darkness she couldn't control. It might have been a blessing if Regina squinted at it hard enough. If she remained in control for Ruby's sake, The Evil Queen had no place in her heart. She was forced to remain as Regina in order to protect the faithful wolf.

Ruby shook her head, clearing the hazy thoughts trapped in her mind. Her eyes remained two different colors, but the haziness of rage within them faltered, flickered, melted away.

"I'm good," she said in a much calmer voice. "The poison. I don't feel it, and as heightened as I am right now, I would if I were affected by it."

They all stared hard at her. She huffed an exasperated sigh.

"You know when your leg falls asleep? When the feeling starts to come back, it's really really sensitive, like you can feel every single little molecule of flesh from the bone to the surface?" They nodded.

"That's what I feel like everywhere. My skin, my organs. I'm probably going to pee in about ten minutes because my bladder is filling up as we speak. My liver absolutely hates me, and I promise to stop drinking so much when we get home. There's a massive lump of scar tissue in my stomach from when Snow shot me to kill Cora." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"I feel everything," she finished and glanced around her crew. "Can we go get Emma now? Pan paid us a visit and said she was in Echo Cave."

Mary Margaret and David celebrated with a hug. Maybe Pan realized how unstoppable Ruby and Regina were and decided to give them Emma to avoid having his island torn to shreds. Hook, however, stepped forward.

"Then she may be doomed already. I lost half my men in that godforsaken place." The pain and horror easily registered in Hook's big eyes. He still grieved for his beloved crew, and Ruby, surprising everyone, touched his shoulder.

"There isn't anything Regina and I can't do," she assured the group. Hook grumbled in frustration.

"You don't get. Magic is useless there. Your wolf is useless there!" Hook threw reality at her and breathed in relief when they began to believe him.

"Why would he offer to give Emma back at all?" Snow joined in.

"I have no idea. Belle said that Rumpelstiltskin knew of a prophesy about this place, but she didn't know what it was. Neverland runs on the magic of all the realms, right?" Regina nodded.

"The prophesy says that one day people will stop believing in magic, but it can be saved in Nerverland if the prophesy is fulfilled. So, I don't think the question should be why he's giving Emma back to us. What the hell does she have to do with the prophesy and how much of it are we fulfilling if we go after her straight away?" Ruby asked, and her team lowered their eyes. She had a good point, but they all knew that as long as they knew Emma's location, they'd chase after her.

"Fabulous questions, Love, but it would still be a cruel fate to leave Miss Swan in such a place. It's only a mile or so from here," he informed them confidently, his fear replaced with his normal cockiness.

"Then lead the way, Pirate," David ordered, anxious to see his daughter safe. Prophesy be damned.

* * *

Emma jerked against the side of the wooden cage when Pan appeared at the cave entrance. Her chest heaved with anger, but she held her tongue. She'd demanded, begged, pleaded, reasoned. She would be released when he deemed her ready to be used for whatever diabolical scheme he concocted.

"Your rescue party has arrived. The witch and the wolf make quiet an impressive team." He spoke across the large canyon separating her from freedom. Her heart fluttered. Regina and Ruby came for her.

"Then you know that you're destined for a good, old-fashioned ass-whoopin' when they get their hands on you," Emma barbed, clinging to the small amount of anger in her gut. The anger kept her strong, but hope fluttered in her chest, quelling the rage.

"And end our fun so soon, Emma?" He clicked his tongue condescendingly. "I have no intention of returning you to them. I only need to make sure you're the one."

"The one? What one? Stop talking in riddles, you pimple-ridden pocket of puss," Emma sniped and grabbed the wooden bars of her cage. They were unbreakable, but that fact hadn't stopped her from trying to bust free.

"The truest believer in the most powerful magic," he said casually, not at all riled by her heated reaction or insults.

"What? I've barely believed in magic for a year, and I certainly am not the truest believer. I hate magic. It destroys lives and people and souls. It's certainly not something I ever wanted to practice. You got your information from an unreliable source, bucko. Now, let me the fuck out of here, so I can give you a proper spanking that your parents clearly didn't." Emma rattled her wooden prison. Pan laughed.

"You mortals never know who you really are inside," he tossed over his shoulder as he exited and left her alone with thoughts that echoed inside her mind.

This cave forced to hear things inside her mind, and if she denied them, they echoed around her as though they had corporeal form. The cacophony ceased only when she begrudgingly admitted the truth to herself. It was almost like torture. The sheer self-honesty this place imposed on her unnerved her to the core, and she loathed to see what requirements must be fulfilled in order to save her.

Her ears perked when a murmur of voices floated across the cavern.

"Captain, I'll magic that hook so far up your…Emma!" Regina stopped mid-threat and stared across the chasm at bright green eyes that should have made her heart pound in her chest. The reaction never came.

"Regina!" She rattled the cage, desperate to find a way to her lover. "I knew you'd come for me. Baby, please get me out of here. Mom, Dad, Rubes… even you Hook. I've never been so happy to see your infuriatingly smug face in my entire life." Emma greeted her rescue party. Her throat burned with tears of joy, and she knew they'd fall the second she felt Regina's skin beneath her fingertips.

"Hold on, Emma. We're going to come get you!" Ruby called, her voice deep and raspy and not at all like the kind, soothing voice of the awkward waitress.

Emma studied her. Something was different. Her forehead was more pronounced, almost like that of a wolf, her face bigger and fuller. Veins and unnatural muscles bulged in her arms, and her eyes were two different colors. She still looked like Ruby, still as beautiful and graceful as ever, just a scary, extreme body builder version. Her wolf was different here.

"Ruby, can you jump that gap with your new wolf strength?" David asked. Regina had informed them during the walk that her magic was useless in the cave, and she feared the horror stories of Neverland enough to heed that warning.

"Not a good idea, Mate," Hook warned, but Ruby had already moved to the entrance for a running start.

"I can do this," Ruby said confidently.

The pirate threw his hand and hook in the air and stood back. The plan was doomed from the start, but they'd not see that until they exhausted every option, which at this point was only Ruby's strength since Regina's magic was out of the question. Despite his growing dread of the outcome, he took a moment to observe the magnificent wolf in action. She truly was the most graceful and gorgeous creature ever created in this world and any other since his Mila. Apparently, sassy, doe-eyed brunette outcasts were his type.

She sprinted towards the edge, tapped her wolf, and leapt. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have cleared the fissure, of that he had no doubts. As it were, an explosion smacked them all in the chest as Ruby was flung backwards at the highest arc of her trajectory. She fell against the dusty stone cave floor with a grunt and the disgusting snap, crunch, and pop of bones breaking.

Regina held her face with both hands as she writhed and shrieked as her body mended itself faster than it was ever intended. The healing ability caused as much pain as it did relief when it was completed. After a full minute, she stilled and heaved. Regina pulled her into a sitting position slowly and used her chest as a back support while the wolf recovered. After a moment, the brown and yellow eyes focused and she slowly stood on shaking legs.

"All good, Love?" Hook checked. She nodded. "Now, shall we all take a moment and listen to the one person whose knows what he's talking about, even though he is a pirate?" They nodded collectively.

"This cave, like everything else in Neverland is enchanted. It runs on magic. As I'm sure you're aware, there are several different types of magic in existence. This particular cave works with the magic of honesty, dark self-truths that you'd never admit otherwise. Allow me to demonstrate," he waved his hook cockily, but his eyes were hesitant, glazed with the thoughts plaguing his conscience.

Ruby and Regina tensed when he stepped into their personal bubbles. Regina sneered, barely containing the urge to conjure a fireball into existence.

"I'm in love with you, Ruby. After what happened with Cora, I watched you. Hid in the shadows of your life to make sure you'd recover. Guilt dictated my actions at first, but after a few months, I began to look forward to seeing your bright smile, hearing your laugh, seeing your hauntingly beautiful eyes. I realize that even if Belle had never existed, a connection between us would have been impossible after what I did to you.

"But that didn't stop my heart from falling in love with your quiet strength and bold personality. I'm truly, deeply regretful for the pain I caused you and those you love. I know I'll never truly amend those actions, but I'm here in Neverland, a place I swore never to return, because I wanted to help restore your family. To keep you from feeling more pain." He finished quietly.

His hand reached for her involuntarily, and he jerked it back as he regained control. Ruby's wide eyes simply stared. Regina squeezed Ruby's forearm tightly, unsure how to react to the confession. Luckily, a deep rumbling of the cave saved them from a response. Hook bowed his head and retreated towards the entrance of the cave, not expecting anything from the tortured woman he'd come to love. Rocks and boulders flew to the edge of the precipice and bound together, creating a small piece of a stone walkway towards the island in the center where Emma's cage sat.

"David."

"Snow."

They spoke at the same time, encouraged by the truth behind Hook's confession. In order to save their daughter, they needed to confess their deepest secret, something they'd wanted to do but had feared. Now that the situation required it, they tripped over themselves to spill their heart.

"No, David, wait. I want another child." Snow blurted. After a few moments, nothing happened, so she took a steadying breath and continued.

"I love Emma. She has grown into a strong, resilient, caring, beautiful person that I am so incredibly proud to call my daughter. I couldn't have asked for more in a child," she directed towards Emma and then turned back to her husband.

"We missed it, David. We missed seeing her grow up. Her first step, her first smile. We missed it. I want to try again."

_And replace me. _Emma thought and dropped her head when tears burned the back of her throat. She knew her parents loved her, but she still wasn't what they wanted. They only came to know her as an adult, and they wanted a child. She understood because she also felt a lot of the same things in regards to Henry. She missed him for the first ten years, and now she and Regina wanted another baby. It hurt from both sides, and Emma tucked it away, keeping that ache close to her heart. When she and Regina spoke to Henry about the baby, she knew exactly what he was going to feel, and she knew exactly what she wanted to say. It certainly wasn't going to stop at how proud she was to call him her son.

She pushed away the knot in her gut. As long as she had Regina and Henry, she endured being the second best child in her parents' eyes and hearts. She only needed them, and everything else was just white noise in her heart. Her heart lifted with the honesty behind that singular thought, and more rocks joined the bridge. She realized then that it wasn't only their honesty the cave needed but hers as well. She must be honest with herself about the confessions because she was in the focal point of the cave. Hook's had been easy if shocking and a little creepy in a sweet and stalker-y sort of way.

"Mary Margaret," David sighed and bowed his head as he took his wife's hands. "I'm dying."

"What?" Snow jerked, and he held her tightly.

"During the fight, when I pushed you out of the way of that arrow. It hit me. I already feel the fever of poison. I'm dying. I won't make it back to Storybrooke to make that baby with you." Tears choked his words, and his chin dropped to his chest. He wanted what she wanted so badly, but it wasn't meant to be.

"David," Snow whined and collapsed into her husband's arms.

"Dad," Emma whispered and pressed her forehead painfully into the bars. She'd only just found him, and now he only had a few days left to teach her all of the things she wanted to learn.

She wanted to dance with him at her wedding. She wanted to learn how to use a sword and ride a horse properly. She wanted him in her life. She let it burn and opened her eyes.

Green and brown met across the chasm, and Emma's tears dripped onto her cheeks. Regina would pull her through this. Their love healed even the deepest gouges in her soul, and it would have healed this, too, in time. As much as she longed to hug her father right now, her desire for Regina's touch burned hotter, sending an aching jolt into her hands with the need to feel her fiancée beneath them. She'd be okay as long as Regina loved her.

More rocks joined the bridge. One more confession completed the connection between the two platforms of solid ground. Ruby stepped hesitantly onto the bridge and met Emma's watery eyes.

"Emma, I'm sorry," she started and clenched her fists. "I'm so fucking angry at you, and jealous and every other emotion on that side of the spectrum. You took Regina away from Storybrooke, away from me. You had to be a big damn hero and take that bullet instead of me. It's not fair to blame you because you couldn't possibly have known, but I do blame you. I guess I need someone to blame, and I know you can take it, so I just let it simmer inside instead of saying anything about it.

"I hurt all the time, and until very recently, I wasn't even able to enjoy the simple pleasure of hugging Belle without remembering Cora's touch on my skin. If I had been shot, I never would have connected with Regina the way I did. She understands my wolf, my dark urges. The rage that burns in my veins and chips away at my soul. You were in a coma, and we did what we had to do in order to survive. We came to love each other on a level I'd never felt before. It's not the same as my love for Belle, but it's just as deep because it's so rare to find someone who understands the darkest part of your soul and accepts it without blinking in hesitation.

"When you moved to Boston, you took that away from me. You left me alone with all of these dark thoughts and this pain and no one to understand me. I'm trying to let it go, especially now that Belle is beginning to understand after I carried her heart for a month. But damn it, Emma, I almost gave up everything to save you. When Cora was inside me, I almost killed myself twice. I would have succeeded if she hadn't stopped me because it would have killed her, too. Her heart, her evil and darkness still slithers inside my soul. It's lessening everyday, especially now that I am so linked with Belle, but I still feel it every damn day.

"This is what I felt when you just left me and took Regina somewhere I couldn't even go without losing myself by crossing the line. I couldn't get to you, and I needed you. God damn it! I needed you!

"What you did was selfish and self-serving and the furthest thing I ever expected from the fucking savior of my home! I hated you for the longest time. I still do, but I love you, too. You're an amazing person and an amazing mother, and when I see Regina's smile and that unconditional love and devotion in her eyes when she looks at you, I know that you and Boston are exactly what she needed.

"But I needed you, too." Ruby finished softly and gave herself over to the anguished tears she'd held inside so long.

Regina pulled her back from the bridge and wrapped her in loving arms. She suspected Ruby's coldness towards Emma in the past year had something to do with their move outside of Storybrooke, but the wolf had remained silent on the subject and she hadn't pushed.

"I'm so sorry, Ruby," Emma apologized around her aching throat. More tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know you felt this way or we would have waited longer before we left. You never said. I didn't know. Please forgive me. I'll do better. I'll be there for you the way I should have been. I'm sorry. Please forgive me, Ruby," Emma pleaded.

She hadn't considered Ruby's position when she made the decision to take Regina and Henry and flee Storybrooke. She only saw her own pain and desire to be with them and only them away from the influence of a town where no one understood their connection, their love. Her heart clenched as she silently vowed to be better a friend, a better savior. If she and Regina held enough love inside them to achieve True Love without the influence of heart magic, she knew she had enough love to help Ruby piece herself back together. She only had to believe in the power of love.

The cave rumbled as the bridge connected the two platforms.

Regina handed a still sobbing Ruby over to Snow and David and crossed the bridge slowly. She pulled at the bars, and Emma pushed from the inside. They were solid. She cried out in frustration, and jerked violently until her shoulders ached. She sank to the dusty floor and leaned her back against the cage. Ruby sobered across the chasm with the realization of what was about to happen. Emma Swan was about to be destroyed in order to be saved. A deep, seething, all-encompassing hatred for Peter Pan filled her heart. He was evil, more evil than The Evil Queen and Gold combined.

Regina pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins. She tried to care. She knew her confession was about to obliterate Emma's heart, and though she felt bad because her mind told her she should, the accompanying emotion never rose up in her chest.

"What is it, Baby?" Emma prodded gently and brushed her fingers through Regina's hair at the back of her head. She sighed as those silky tresses slid against her hand and instantly felt better.

"Whatever you need to say, we'll handle it together. I promise. We'll be okay." Emma comforted the reticent woman, coaxing the turtle out of its shell with promises of forever.

"Emma, I don't love you," Regina stated clearly. Hook, David and Snow reacted visibly across the chasm. Ruby held herself and dropped her head as more tears fell onto her already wet cheeks.

"What?" Emma deadpanned. Surely she'd misunderstood the words somehow in the hazy relief of feeling Regina beneath her hand again.

"I can't love you, Emma," Regina said. Her voice was clear and calm and to the point.

"Regina, you love me. I felt it," Emma countered, her voice rising to an hysterical, disbelieving tone. "I felt you! I felt us! What the hell are you talking about! You love me. I know you love me. I felt you," Emma finished pathetically in a small and broken voice more befitting a child than the savior.

"That machine they had," Regina started and glanced around at the three sets of eyes on the other side. She didn't want to see Emma's anguish.

She may not have loved her, but she still felt emotions like guilt and remorse. It was one of the top reasons she'd attempted to bring back The Evil Queen. That woman possessed the ability to turn off those useless emotions. That wasn't who she was anymore, and simply seeing so much torturous grief in a woman she'd once loved deeper than she'd ever loved anything else, even her son, and still respected and trusted would have broken her. Imagining the expression in her mind was hard enough.

She knew Emma so well, knew her tiny sounds when they made love, recognized the small facial ticks that indicated insecurity. She knew it all, had seen and studied and memorized every feature when she'd loved Emma enough to want to read her thoughts before they were spoken. Emptiness moved where love once swelled.

"That machine was designed to extract magic. We weren't in Storybrooke. The only magic they found was our True Love connection. They took it, Emma. They took us. I fought it, clung to it as hard as I could, but I wasn't strong enough. That's why I kept pushing you away after you rescued me. The emptiness… it's there, all the time, and being near you… It hurts the most when I look into your eyes." Regina paused at the heavy sob from the woman behind her. She continued after a deep, steadying breath.

"You carry all of your emotions there, and seeing them, knowing how they used to make me feel… it's too much to bear, Emma. I prayed that it somehow took your love, too, to spare you ever having to know what I'm telling you." She stared at the beautiful, one-of-a-kind ring on her finger. Something snapped inside everyone when she slid it from her finger.

"I won't leave you, Emma. Henry needs both of us, and I trust you and respect you enough to help you through this however you need or want me to. But I won't condemn you to a loveless marriage. I know that pain, and I won't force you to endure it because I know that you'll try to make me love you again if I go through with it because I know the power of the love you still have for me." She sat the ring on the floor of the cave and crossed her arms over her chest, no longer able to look at the ring that once inspire a surge of affection for the woman who had given it to her.

"Regina," Emma choked behind her. "Please put it back on. Please, Baby, don't give up on us." She begged, uncaring who heard her grief and pathetically pleading tone.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I'll try to fall in love with you again, but I don't believe it's possible." She finished and pushed herself to her feet and left the cave without another word.

"Regina!" Emma screamed in a hollow, broken sob. She grabbed the bars of the cage and hung her head between her arms as the tears cascaded onto the dusty floor.

"We'll get it back," she whispered. "I'll get you back. If you won't believe, I'll believe enough for both of us." She vowed, determination flaring in her chest.

"I believe." The wooden rods faded beneath her hands.

She fell forward, barely catching herself on hands and knees. She plucked the ring from the ground and sat back on her heels as she stared at it. Shaking fingers unhooked the chain from her neck and then reattached it with the symbol of their love nestled against her chest.

"I believe."


	21. The Truest Believer

Today on SwanQueen tube, Regina speaks out about the emptiness in her heart!

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: The Story by Sara Ramirez, Private Parts by Halestorm

* * *

Ruby shivered by the fire once more. She'd still been soaked before their trip to Echo Cave, and now her soul felt as frozen as her joints. Emma stood at the edge of the campsite with her back to the rest of the group since arriving, and though everyone noticed her bowed head and trembling shoulders, no one addressed her tears. What words or comfort could they possibly have given that offered any sort of respite from her emotional torture?

She sniffed, wiped her own tears and then pulled her cloak taut against her back and shoulders like a security blanket. She wanted Belle. Her heart ached at the separation before Regina's soul crushing confession and subsequent severing of their engagement, but now, that dull throb moved into her limbs and hands with a nervous burn to have Belle in her arms once more. Her heart called out for her bright blue eyes and reserved, clipped tone when she did something the former princess disapproved of.

She irritated her on purpose sometimes just to hear that exasperated "Ruby Lucas" bounce off the walls. Her heart pounded painfully when the thought of something happening to her back in Storybrooke attacked her mind. She was an entire world away, literally. She wasn't there to protect her. She'd promised to stay at Granny's with Henry while they were away, but that only offered a modicum of comfort. At least she wasn't alone, and Granny wasn't a lady to be trifled with if you didn't want a crossbow bolt in the chest.

She huffed a sigh and stared towards the water where Hook, Regina, David and Snow made the necessary repairs to The Jolly Roger. The thick jungle hid them from sight, but every now and then she heard a muffled yell and the soft pulses of energy indicating that Regina had magically repaired another hole in the hull. She wanted them to hurry the hell up because the homesickness in her heart for her brilliant bookworm chipped at her resolve.

Emma huffed in frustration, catching her attention without meaning to, and then hacked into the jungle with Charming's sword. Ruby watched and let her blow off steam on the unsuspecting plants. When the dense plants swallowed her from sight, she reluctantly removed her cloak and allowed her wolf to surface. Her ears honed in on Emma's movement and followed it through the jungle as she mumbled and cried and hacked at the thick foliage. Ruby realized that she needed a moment to herself and her grief, but she was still in danger and a sitting duck by herself if ambushed by The Lost Boys.

Her advanced hearing gave Emma privacy, and her shiny new super wolf speed ensured her protection if anything turned sour out in the jungle. She'd be at her side in seconds. Ruby closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her stomach, wishing that she had the comfort of her worn and familiar cloak around her. It'd never let her down, never caused her pain, and she missed it's comforting rustle against her clothes as she moved. A twig snapped in the direction of the ship, and her eyes flew open.

Regina smiled sadly at her and then glanced around the clearing for Emma. Her eyes returned to Ruby's in question. The wolf pointed with one sharp claw towards the path Emma made into the jungle.

"She started hacking about five minutes ago. I've been keeping track of her by sound in case anything happened. The Jolly Roger ready to go?" Ruby explained and then changed the subject.

"Just about. The idiots are removing the water right now. We should set sail in about twenty minutes." Her eyes followed the jagged trail.

"Regina, what are we going to do? Emma's… she's… broken," Ruby stuttered. She wasn't sure exactly how Regina's emotions worked anymore without her love, but she saw the coiled muscles of stress and the tightened skin around her eyes. She grieved for what she'd lost.

"I know, Darling," Regina answered sadly and slumped onto the log beside her.

"Hey Mama Bear?" She said after a few quiet moments. Her voice was small and wondering, like that of a child asking an adult to explain something painful and difficult that their cognitive understanding hadn't quite developed enough to grasp.

"Hmm?" She responded, not able to meet the sad eyes of her best friend.

"What does it feel like?" Ruby asked with childish eyes. Regina sighed and leaned their shoulders together, resting the crown of her head against Ruby's temple.

"Like I've lost something I can't remember. Do you know what it feels like when you are trying to say a certain word, and it suddenly leaves your mind but remains on the tip of your tongue?" Ruby nodded.

"That's sort of what it's like. I'm trying to feel something on the edge of my heart, but no matter how hard I try, it's gone with only the wisp of a memory of what it used to feel like." Regina struggled to find an explanation that encompassed the constant ache in her heart.

"That sounds… it sounds incredibly lonely," Ruby said hesitantly, unsure how much Regina wished to divulge.

"It is. It feels a lot like The Evil Queen used to feel. You know that clench in your chest that you feel when Belle does something that turns you on or makes you fall in love all over again?" Ruby nodded. "My heart still jerks in such a manner, but there's only pain and regret and loneliness where love used to be. I know it hurts her when I push her away, but I don't know what else to do. It's… simply being near her aches deeper than any other pain I've ever felt. Worst than the first time I killed, worst than anything Rumpelstiltskin had ever done to me, worst than losing Daniel the first time."

Regina stopped and took a steadying breath, done speaking of her inner torment. Ruby viewed her with new eyes. If she hurt that much inside, Emma needed to stay away until she figured out how to grieve something she no longer possessed the ability to feel. They both ached in similar ways, both grieving for the loss of a love so powerful that it created True Love in a realm where magic hadn't existed. Ruby wasn't sure which was worst, continuing to feel it or living with a hole in her heart.

"I'm trying so very hard to be strong for her. She needs me, still, but…Empty, to answer your question succinctly. I feel empty, Wolf Pup," she whispered and closed her eyes against the sudden moisture there. Breath caught in Ruby's throat.

"You haven't called me that in forever." Regina heard the smile in her voice, and one graced her lips.

"I wasn't sure you'd want me to after I heard Cora use it," the witch explained. Ruby nodded against her head.

"Yeah, I probably wouldn't have taken that very well, but I kind of miss it. It always made me feel safe, you know. Like there was someone looking out for me. I think I'd like you to start using it again. If you want, that is," Ruby added anxiously, shoulder tensing beneath Regina's.

The older woman smiled. Even after everything Ruby had endured and everything they'd gone through together, the young woman struggled with her self-esteem and self-worth. Tapping into her darkness the way she had only added weight to her burden. The young woman was a combination of unwavering strength and endearing insecurity, like Emma. She wrapped her arm around Ruby's damp shoulders and pulled her into her chest. Her cheek found the crown of her head naturally.

"If you'd like. I've missed it as well," Regina eased her fears. "I'm so very sorry that we haven't been the support you've clearly needed this past year. I'm moving back to Storybrooke, so I promise to change that." Ruby pulled back in shock and searched her eyes. The fire glinted and flickered in shimmering brown eyes.

"You said you wouldn't leave her," she almost accused the older woman. Regina sighed.

"I had hoped that Emma would also come, silly mutt." Ruby nodded and settled against her shoulder again.

"David's going to die, isn't he?" Ruby whined and pressed her face into her chest. "Hook said there isn't a cure for dream shade poisoning."

"Your blood's the cure, Ruby. I only need to figure out how to harness the wolf DNA for the antidote. I'm not sure I can do that here, but I'll try once we've set sail. We're far safer on the water than on this island." Regina said and readjusted her head against Ruby's.

Ruby tensed, muscles coiling painfully. Regina craned her head and caught her eye.

"Sorry. I… Emma's crying again. It's… everything about this is just plain wrong," Ruby rumbled, the rage clear in her voice. Regina pulled from the embrace.

"I'll go get her. Put your cloak back on when you hear me speak to her. I'll yell if I need anything. You should head to the ship." Regina instructed, and Ruby nodded.

"I will when you're with her," she promised and stood, moving closer to the fire. Damn, Neverland was cold.

Regina nodded wordlessly and then disappeared down the rough trail. It took only a few minutes to find the end of Emma's trail. The tortured woman stood with her back to the campsite. Her father's sword dangled loosely in her hand. Regina steadied her breathing before announcing herself.

"Emma?" She called and took another step closer. She might have reached out and touched her if she wanted, but she pressed her hands into her thighs.

She squeaked when the sword thumped into the dirt as Emma whirled around, grabbed her face and pressed their lips together. It lingered an emotional moment. Emma pulled back, met her sad gaze and then kissed her again. Regina stood perfectly still, lips unresponsive. Even if the kiss moved her physically, it would have been a cruel trick to return the gesture when nothing moved beneath her chest. It hurt, having Emma against her and not feeling anything, but she allowed Emma to do what she needed to do in order to accept this.

"Regina," she sobbed as her forehead dropped to her shoulder.

"This can't be happening," she whispered around her tears. "I brought you home. I believed when no one else did. I brought you home," Emma babbled.

Regina sighed patiently when wet lips pressed against her throat. Teeth scraped the sensitive skin beneath her ear that drove her insane, and a twinge of arousal pulled through her. It was merely a physical reaction to stimulation. Gentle hands pushed Emma's shoulder back gently.

"Let me try. We connected before because of sex. Maybe it will bring it back, Regina." Emma explained her reasoning, and Regina's heart broke.

"Let me try," Emma begged. Regina sighed. It didn't work like that. Their sex was so good because they had True Love. True Love hadn't grown because of sex.

"It doesn't work that way, Emma, and it wouldn't be fair to you. You still have your love, and if I had sex with you, it would only prolong your denial." Regina tried to make her understand.

Emma pulled away in frustration, turned her back for a brief moment. She whirled around, dropped to her knees, and flung her arms around Regina's hip as she had that day in the driveway. Wretched sobs echoed around them and tears soaked into her shirt. Regina closed her eyes against throbbing hollowness in her chest. Her heart desperately searched for the love she'd once felt, and pounded angrily against the glass box she'd tossed it in when it came up empty.

One hand wrapped around the head of blonde hair below her breasts and the other settled on Emma's shoulder. She waited for the other woman's recovery. Emma jerked back suddenly, fingertips digging into her waist.

"My heart," she said excitedly. "Regina, you have to put my heart in your chest! It worked for Belle's memories, maybe it will work for your love." Regina gasped. Why hadn't she thought of that?

"Hold still. It will hurt a little," Regina informed her and plunged her hand into Emma's chest. Regina tugged, and Emma pulled forward bodily.

"What the hell?" She tugged again with the same result.

"I can't take your heart, Emma!" She tugged again and then flew backwards as a brilliant white light shot from Emma's chest and knocked her onto her back a few feet from Emma.

"What the hell was that, Regina?" Emma asked, her now wide and terrified eyes dry of tears though her face still glistened with them.

Regina sat up and shook her tingling hand. Confusion riddled her face as she dumbly stared at Emma's chest. She'd never felt anything like that before. Emma held an unstoppable magic, much more powerful than hers, even if she hadn't realized it.

"Emma, your heart…" Regina started and shook her head. "I can't take your heart. Why?" Regina asked, not actually expecting an answer. Green eyes widened as Pan's words rushed back to her.

"Pan said I had the heart of the truest believer in the most powerful magic." Emma said suddenly and sat back on her heels. "That's why he put me in that cage. He said he needed to make sure I was the one. I thought he was just being creepy, but… What the hell is happening, Regina?" She pressed a hand into her chest and stared expectantly at the other woman.

"I can't take your heart," Regina said again, still unbelieving of the magic she'd felt coursing through the savior.

"Maybe I can," Emma said hopefully and pressed her hand into her chest.

"Emma, wait!" Regina ordered and scrambled across the ground. She jerked Emma's hand from her chest.

"No, you cannot leave something that powerful unprotected. If you want to try when we get back to Storybrooke, then fine, but not here. Not when Pan might be watching. You're the one, Emma Swan. You're the one the prophecy spoke of. Ruby mentioned it earlier, but I hadn't realized it was _that _prophecy. I didn't know it was connected to Neverland, but I know the prophecy. I read it in one of Rumpelstiltskin's books when I was his student." Regina babbled excitedly, and Emma stared.

"What does that mean? Regina?" Emma questioned, but Regina continued to babble as though she hadn't even heard her.

"You have the heart of the truest believer, Emma!" Regina practically yelled at her, tears on her cheeks. Her look told Emma that she should have known what she meant by that point.

"That makes me…" Her gaze dropped and her face fell. Emma sputtered, racing desperately after Regina's thoughts.

"What?" She demanded when the silence stretched too long.

"The lost soul. The heart of the truest believer will spend her life saving the lost soul. A spirit consumed with darkness and forever destined to lose heart and soul over and over to evil. I don't remember the exact words, but that's the basic idea. It says that the truest believer, a beloved hero of the people, will forever chase and save the lost soul, creating between them an unbreakable bond that stands true despite the many trials and separations they must endure." Regina grabbed her hands and pressed them to her chest. Excitement boiled and spewed from her in waves, and Emma dared to hope that Regina had begun to believe.

"What does that have to do with Neverland?" She pushed forward. Regina's sudden excitement infected her, and she leaned forward, wanting more of the story. Was it somehow possible to restore Regina's love? I had to be because she still believed in them.

"The magical hub, the land that runs on belief. The book said…" Regina stopped suddenly and scratched at her throat, eyes wide and scared.

Emma gasped when she lifted into the air bodily and flew into a nearby tree head first. She grabbed her sword and jumped to her feet as Regina thumped onto the ground, limp and unconscious from the head wound. Her heart leapt into her throat, and a rush of adrenaline vibrated beneath her skin.

"I thought you were dead," she blurted in surprise and then winced, not having meant to say the words aloud.

"Don't believe everything you hear, Dearie," The Dark One taunted and then smirked at her shocked gasp as the sword flew into the tree he had bashed Regina against.

"You're working with Pan," she accused with hard eyes. Of course Rumpelstiltskin was behind Regina's kidnapping and torture.

"Hardly. I'm here to make sure you never fulfill that prophecy. You're terribly difficult to kill, Miss Swan, but this is Neverland, and the rules here are different."

His grin was the last thing she saw before her own head suffered the same fate as her lover's.

Regina's mind acclimated to reality in a jumbled heap. Gentle hands touched her head. David's voice. Snow's gasp. Ruby's scent.

"Oh my god," the wolf exclaimed in breathy shock.

"It says 'Property of The Dark One' on her chest. That's where the rest of the blood is coming from. That bastard carved it into her skin. I thought he was dead." The wolf's rage washed against Regina, muffling the deep rumble of David's voice and Hook's accent.

Gentle hands slid beneath her back and knees and lifted her into the air. The faint scent of salt and citrus shampoo filled her nostrils, and something soft tickled her nose. Ruby's hair. Ruby carried her. She was safe. Emma. She sank into the blackness again.

* * *

A gentle swaying urged her awake a second time, like she'd only fallen asleep in a hammock. She cracked her eyes. A blurry red figure stood across the room. Ruby's cloak. She wiggled her fingers, wanting desperately to reach out to her friend.

"Rube," she whispered, choked. The figure whirled around and ate the distance between them with long, graceful strides.

"Hey, I'm here, you silly witch." Ruby's voice slid across her soul like a healing balm.

"Em," she croaked. Ruby slid a hand around her neck and lifted her head as she pressed something to her lips. Water. The cool liquid slid into her mouth, and she gulped until her throat felt soothed and moisturized enough to speak again.

"We think," Ruby started but stopped to sigh as she lowered her back to the bed. "We think Rumpelstiltskin took her. Did you see him? What happened?" Ruby blurted the questions in quick succession, and Regina winced.

"Saw him. Head," she said and lifted one weak hand from the bed a few inches and then dropped it once more. "Tree."

"He bashed your head off a tree?" Regina nodded slowly.

"Emma," Regina said again. Ruby squeezed her hand tightly, and Regina knew that they hadn't found Emma with her.

"He took her. We don't know where. Hook and David are scouting possible locations near here right now. He's getting worst, Regina. David doesn't have much time," the scared wolf confessed without meaning to.

Regina was injured and terrified for Emma's safety. The last thing she needed right now was Ruby losing her shit, even if he was one of her oldest and most trusted friends, despite the tool he'd been lately.

"Ruby," Regina rasped. She fought valiantly for consciousness, but she felt it slip a little more every second. She desperately wanted to comfort her friend, but her head wound sucked her under once more.

"I'm here, Regina," Ruby assured her, not yet aware of her struggle.

"Hold me," Regina said. She tried to smile when the bed dipped with the light weight of the scared wolf.

A warm head pressed into her shoulder, and a strong arm slid around her waist protectively. It wasn't perfect, but it was the only form of comfort her position allowed at the moment. She had no doubt that the younger woman clung to her until she awoke again, and in holding her would have found comfort of her own. It was the best she had to offer in the moment, and she lulled her cheek onto soft hair as unconsciousness reclaimed her mind as its own.


	22. Give Me a Break

So, this was an incredibly cathartic and deeply satisfying chapter to write, so I hope it is also the same to read.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Ice Queen by Within Temptation

* * *

Emma groaned and swallowed at the dryness in her throat. The small vibration from the rumbling noise set her head pounding, and she forced slow deep breaths through her nose. Fuck you, Rumpel, she grumbled silently. Her body settled into the hard surface beneath her, allowing her brain a moment to take stock before attempting to move again. Small, jagged gravels poked into her back, so she must have been on the ground.

The events that led to this moment flashed back in small chunks as she remained still and took deep cleansing breaths. Her desperate kisses and pleas. Regina's excitement about the prophecy. The sick crack of Regina's skull against the tree. Rumpelstiltskin's creepy laugh. He traversed realms to stop a prophecy directly linked to her and their love, which meant she was powerful. Regina admitted as much when her shocked face got blasted by her heart's magic. Pan and Rumpelstiltskin needed her heart for something far more sinister, but they lacked the power to take it unless she took it out for them. She had the ability to bring Regina's love back, and it terrified them. She smiled.

Her head throbbed harder in tune with the staccato rhythm of her heart, clearly injured by his attempt to jackhammer a tree with it. She took more intentionally deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. Everything else felt fine if a bit achy from the hard, uneven surface. With the lingering reserves of strength left in her at the moment, she lifted her hand. It slapped limply at her chest until Regina's ring pressed into her palm. A sigh met her ears as her fingers slid around the cold metal circle, and she realized a moment later it'd come from her own lips.

He hadn't taken it. Perhaps he hadn't known what it represented, otherwise, it would have become a weapon against them, something else she became destined to retrieve from evil hands. Emotion swelled in her chest, breaking loose gentle tears. A wisp of derision surged into her veins at the perceived weakness. No more tears. They needed her strong. Ruby barely controlled her wolf. Regina was broken on a level far deeper than she could ever have imagined. David died slowly from poison. Snow probably became as nonfunctional as her husband with the crushing reality of his death and possibly hers. Her entire family ripped away in a few short days.

They needed her unwavering strength, and she intended to give it to them. Regina lost what she'd given her, protection and unconditional acceptance and forgiveness and love. Emma maintained the surge of protective strength, however, that Regina had given her when their souls combined. She was the goddamn savior, and she intended to save her family and destroy anyone in the way of that.

She swallowed again, finally gathering enough moisture on her tongue to wet her throat. Green eyes cracked, slammed shut against a bright glowing light, opened slower, adjusting to the visual world a tiny bit at a time. A huge hour glass filled with bubbling shininess that looked like a vat of enchanted honey stood at the center of the cavernous room. Seriously? A vat of glowing honey in a cave? Did no one think this through before they designed the room? She giggled to herself.

"Where's Pooh? I haven't met him yet." She mumbled and sat up slowly. Was Pooh considered a fairy tale?

Why the hell was she focused on Pooh?

She pressed her free hand onto the wound near her ear and clutched Regina's ring with the other. Blood matted strands of tangled blonde hair, and Emma decided that she was shaving it. It had never done what she wanted it to anyway. She winced at the thought, and anger swelled in her chest. She was going to kill Rumpelstiltskin if it was the last thing she did.

"Glad to have ya back, Dearie," his sickly sweet voice called from the mouth of the cave.

"Go to hell," she spat and glared at him, not yet ready to stand. If he had meant to kill her, he'd have done it by now. No, he wanted her alive despite his statement about her being hard to kill. He wasn't here to stop the prophecy, he traveled across realms to change it. What the hell did this prophecy say anyway?

He giggled maniacally in an insanely high pitch at her fire. "I'll run it before I'm through," he assured her, and she doubted nothing in his cryptic statement even if she hadn't a clue what it meant.

"The fuck does that mean?" She flung at him. She wasn't scared anymore. She was done being scared. She was hungry. She was filthy. She missed Regina and Henry. And she'd had enough of magical beings bashing people she loved off things. She hated magic.

"It means you're going to help me take control of Neverland," he answered nonchalantly. Emma bristled.

"This is about you gaining more power!" She yelled. The anger pushed her forward, and she surged to her feet.

"Miss Swan, sit down before you fall over. You don't look well," he taunted her with an acerbic smile. She clenched her fists but remained glued to the spot where she stood. He was right, and she hated it. Her gut roiled and crashed and her head throbbed, but her pride dictated she remain standing. So, she stood, wobbled on quivering legs, and seethed.

"What makes you think I'd help you do anything? You've tortured everyone I've ever loved, myself included." She really wanted to know the answer. The more he revealed, the more she had to tell when Regina saved her again.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. I've never tortured you, Dearie," he brushed away her anger like an annoying bug.

"You took her love," Emma said. The words were an accusation, but the tone was a threat, a vow, a promise, a conviction laced in a slow-burning ire. It was dangerous. He faltered a moment but covered it with a flourish of his hands, but she'd seen it. He feared her.

"That wasn't me, Miss Swan, though a serendipitous event, indeed." He turned his back and studied the magical honey.

"Serendipitous? You think losing True Love is serendipitous?" She fought the urge to charge the infuriating demon, but her damaged life bar barely allowed her to stand. She needed a mushroom or perhaps some fire power or maybe one of the tails from the third Mario game. DA DA DA DA DA DAAAAA! Puppy Power!

She gritted her teeth and tried to focus her thoughts. Clearly, he'd scrambled her brain. Fan-fucking-tastic. Lost. Starved. Clearly a badass magical being with no understanding of her powers. And blurring reality between Winnie the Pooh, Mario and Scrappy Doo. She took a deep breath.

"She's so delicious when she's broken, isn't she? True Love," he clicked his tongue condescendingly. "Did she tell you that she tried to love me once before I tore that nasty little habit out of her heart? Disdainful stuff, True Love."

Adrenaline jolted through her system. He spoke about raping Regina as if he'd only invited her over for tea on rainy afternoon. Her chest heaved, but she left the bait wiggling untouched in the water. He wanted her angry. Otherwise, why bother bringing that up?

"I'll let Belle know that you've moved on when I get back to Storybrooke. Though I doubt she'll care that much when Ruby's fucking her against a stack in the library." She twisted the knife of his own true love lost and grinned darkly when he whirled on her with angry eyes and flaring nostrils.

With a wave of his hand, she flew through the cave and landed hard on her back. Her air supply depleted with a grunt, and she gasped for oxygen, ignoring the shiny lights floating through her already blurry vision. Gathering her resolve, she pushed herself to her feet again.

"Strike a nerve, Rumpy?" She taunted and pulled her shoulders square, exuding much more confidence than she felt. She knew magic was connected to the emotions of the wielder, and if she pushed him off kilter enough, she actually stood a chance of escaping.

"Temper. Temper. Ruby has a temper. Wolf's rage to be exact. That's what gets her going, right? Belle?" She clamped down on the bile in her throat at using her friend in such a manner, but she needed to break free and damn it, Belle was the fastest way to piss him off. He loved her. It was sick and twisted, but in his mind, he loved her.

"She likes the darkness? Gets off on the rage? So what's wrong with you? Were you not good enough, Rumpy? Or were you disappointed that Regina got there first? Your student, taking everything from you. Your place as the most powerful magical being. Your True Love's virginity the same way you broke her soul." Her stomach lurched. Please forgive me, Belle.

"Did you whack off to the thought of your precious little Belle being taken by your former student like that? Did you feel sick afterwards because you knew why she'd never love you? She'll never love you. You clearly aren't her type unless of course she's someone else. Lacey didn't love you either. She loved your power and money. And the second Belle got her memories back, who did she run to? Ruby. Ruby is her whole world. She won't even look at you because all Belle sees is Ruby." Emma released her disgust in a patronizing laugh. She wanted to puke, and it wasn't from the concussion.

"Guess the wolf has more balls than The Dark One. Is there a prophecy about the wolf and the librarian? I bet it doesn't involve something as inane or cliché as a chipped teacup." She twisted the knife and grinned darkly at his angry eyes.

"Shut up!" He screamed and then suddenly appeared in front of her, hand buried to his forearm in her chest. She had him.

"Time for you to die, Emma Swan," he breathed onto her face. She smiled wickedly.

"Not today," she countered smugly and then reached for that same power that had given Regina a jolt earlier.

She'd used magic before, so she understood how to search for it. Somehow, her consciousness latched onto it and forced it into The Dark One's chest from her own when he jerked on her heart. It was much stronger now that she recognized what to look for. That same bright white light blasted from her chest and flung the man across the cave and into the wall. She grinned in satisfaction when his head cracked into the jagged rocks. Had she made that happen? She certainly thought how wonderful it would be to see him get his head bashed in for once.

"Payback's a bitch." She wobbled towards the mouth of the cave, stopping when she reached the crumpled body of her captor.

She kicked his skull. Anger flashed. She kicked it again for good measure. Regina's broken smile flashed into her mind. She kicked him again. Belle's haunted eyes. Another kick. Ruby's funeral. Kick. Foster homes. Kick. David's imminent death. Kick. Henry's anger. Stomp. The feeling of Regina's essence leaving her chest. She stomped his face again, and then again, and again. Bone and cartilage crunched beneath her boot.

She stumbled backwards, losing her balance and falling onto a boulder near the entrance. Her chest heaved as horrified green eyes absorbed the destruction she'd caused on the man's face. No matter how evil he was or what he'd done, this wasn't who she was, not who she wanted to be. She rolled off the rock and fumbled for footing. The cool ocean air pushed against her hot face, soothing her mildly but not enough to stop the dry heaves when she finally stabilized and held her weight on shaking arms braced against her knees. She gagged and wished she actually had something to puke up.

A sliver of conscience told her to go back and check for Rumpel's pulse. She ignored it and gulped fresh air, stumbling further from the cave. She had no clue which direction was right. She waded through the black water and prayed Neverland offered no surprises from the deep, dark depths of the ocean.

"Please don't have krakens," Emma begged and glanced towards the black water.

Her footing slipped into a deep drop off, and Emma flailed, not having expected the deep underwater fissure so close to the shoreline. Strong hands grabbed her waist, and panic tore through her. She lashed out, and the hands grabbed her wrists. She pushed for freedom, but her weakened state prevented her from actually breaking the hold. Salty air pulled into her lungs in gasping sputters when she broke the surface.

Shock stilled her movements when a young woman with red hair smiled at her. When she said nothing, the woman pulled her towards the shore faster than humanly possible, much less with one hand. The woman released her and then planted herself in the sand a few feet from the shoreline. Emma leaned onto her elbows and rested. Rumpelstiltskin, if he still lived, was going to be out for a while, and if anyone else knew her location, they'd have come for her by now.

"Thanks," Emma said to the woman looking at her with bright, excited eyes.

"Where'd you learn to swim like that?" She asked, not sure what to say to the woman who practically kept her from drowning.

The redhead moved her mouth as if answering silently. Deep sadness etched into her face when no sound came out. She leaned back and lifted a beautiful, shiny green tail out of the water. Emma gasped and leaned forward.

"Oh my god. Mermaids are real!" She exclaimed as the last of her anger and nausea slipped away. The woman nodded enthusiastically.

"What's your name? I'm Emma Swan," Emma asked excitedly. Of all the fairytale creatures she'd encountered, she longed the most to meet a mermaid. Ariel was her favorite princess because she, too, longed to be part of someone's world. It was her favorite movie growing up in the foster system.

The woman moved her mouth again in frustration and then pointed at her throat.

"No way," Emma whispered. "Is your name Ariel?" No freaking way. The woman nodded, and Emma nearly fell over onto the sand.

"Ariel, you're voice was taken by the evil sea witch?" The woman nodded. No freaking way.

"Look, I know someone who might be able to help you. She's a powerful sorceress. Can you help me get to her?" She asked, careful not to mention Regina's name. For all she knew, The Evil Queen had been the witch who had taken the kind mermaid's voice. At least she hadn't been turned into sea foam like Anderson suggested in his story.

Ariel nodded. "Great. I don't know where I am, but I know they have a ship. It's called The Jolly Roger. Do you think you can find it and then come find me? I'll stay by the shore, but I can't stay here much longer."

Ariel waved her hands and pointed down the shore. Emma rubbed her forehead and stood. Nonverbal communication sucked.

"You want me to go that way?" The mermaid nodded. "Do you know where my friends are?" She hoped and prayed for another nod. They were answered, and Emma nearly cried out with joy.

"Lead the way. I'm sorry if it's slow going. I'm hurt and weak from being held captive for two days. Bear with me," Emma explained, took tow steps forward, stopped. She studied the mermaid with untrusting eyes. Why was she being nice? People weren't nice without reason.

"I can't pay you anything, and my friend might not be able to get your voice back. They might have something on the ship, but…" Emma stopped when Ariel shook her head fervently. She slapped her hand against her chest and then pointed at Emma.

"I don't know what that means. Chest. Heart?" Ariel nodded. "You want my heart?" Emma stepped back involuntarily from the shoreline. Ariel huffed and shook her head. She touched her chest, pointed at Emma and then waved her arms above her head like an explosion.

"You felt my heart's magic?" She tried again. It was the only possible explanation. Ariel nodded. Emma sighed in relief. Maybe the mermaids were destined to be allies of the truest believer. They fell silent and followed the beach into the darkness. She nearly jumped back into the sea when a voice in the darkness scared the hell out of her.

"Hello again, Emma," Pan called in his smug adolescent lilt. Emma's head fell back in frustrated grumbled.

"Give me a damn break!" She yelled at the moon directly above her head and held her arms out to her sides as though the unseen entity she cursed might actually have listened to her threatening body language.

"No? How about a cheeseburger?" She lowered her expectation, but still nothing happened. Pan laughed.

"I'm not here to harm you, Emma. Or you Ariel," he leaned to the side and waved. Ariel flipped her tale angrily and crossed her arms. Good, another ally against Pan. At least she hadn't been working for him and leading her into a trap.

"Then why are you here. Go smirk and piss your smugness on someone else, you little imp. Your ears are too big for your head. Are you aware of this? It bugs me," Emma grouched and punched her hands onto her hips as she stared down the powerful being.

She was tired of being scared, and Regina was hurt. Her father died a little every second. She needed to go. When her said nothing straight away, she continued walking. He fell into step beside her. Ariel splashed again.

"I'm here to tell you how to restore Regina's love," he whispered near her ear, so close that his chest thumped into her shoulder when she stopped abruptly.

"How and what the hell does that have to with this prophecy crap? I'm not exactly one for prophecies. I do whatever I fucking want, and I will not save your precious Neverland intentionally." Her voice was tight and deep. Emma had reached her limit.

"Give her your heart," Pan said and smiled at her in a way that unnerved her. He wanted her to leave it unprotected.

"When I get back to Storybrooke, I fully intend to," she shrugged and continued walking.

"It won't work there. It only works here. Neverland runs on belief. All you need to do in order to restore it is believe, and she must believe also. Anything is possible in Neverland if you believe, and that can be taken to other realms, so you'll even be able to leave without the risk of losing it again." He looked at her expectantly. She remained silent, soaking up all of the information.

"She hasn't only lost her love, Emma. She connected with your soul on the deepest level possible. That uncontrollable rage you're beginning to feel. That's hers because you're still connected. Once two souls have merged like yours and your beloved's, they cannot be separated, not even in death. The further she sinks into her rage and vengeance again, the more your own soul will unravel. Save your love, save yourself." He pushed her, and she whirled on him and grabbed his shirt.

"If you know how angry I am, then why are you still here yapping in my ear and pissing me off. Why do you want me to do this!" His eyes widened in slight fear, and she grinned wickedly. She hadn't the foggiest clue why everyone was suddenly so afraid of her, but she liked it. He recovered quickly.

"Neverland runs on belief in magic. If your love survives, Neverland will be spared the prophesied magical death." Ping. Lie. You little bastard.

"Once more with feeling, you pompous prick. The real reason, now," she threatened. He grinned.

"Oops," he said, and Emma jerked as something poked into her arm.

She opened her mouth to ask him what he'd done, but the sedative worked fast. She slumped forward, fell to her knees against the teenage demon. Why was everyone so keen on keeping her unconscious? Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ariel disappear into the water. She prayed the mermaid found Regina and her parents and told them somehow what she knew.

_Seriously? Give me a fucking break. _

The world went dark.


	23. Listen to My Heart

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews! I absolutely love hearing your favorite parts of each chapter! And yes, Pan's ears bugged me the entire season!

This one just flew from my fingers last night.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Warning: Feels, some torture, but mostly feels.

Songs: If I Can't Love Her as performed by Terrence Mann, Ice Queen by Within Temptation

* * *

Regina breathed through her nose and gripped the small table painfully when a wave of dizziness hit her. It had taken her a full day to completely wake up, and by that time, the dream shade in David's veins had progressed almost to the point of death. She worked as quickly as possible, trying to extract the magical antidote from Ruby's DNA but had thus far turned up nothing useful. She was one more failed attempt away to injecting the wolf's blood into Emma's father directly. They ran the risk of infecting him with the werewolf gene, but better he spend the rest of his life as wolf than die in this godforsaken hellhole.

Snow hovered at her shoulder, ready to catch her if she fell. Regina bristled. Never in a million years would she have imagined that she cared more for Snow White than Emma. The irony of her situation was neither lost nor funny. Another deep breath and a wince later, she turned to the woman.

"I'm quite alright, Dear. Only a minor moment of dizziness. This batch is nearly complete," she assured and then changed the subject. Had Snow offered to take care of her one more time, she might have screamed.

"Regina, if this doesn't work…" the question hung between them, and Regina gritted her teeth at the broken tone.

"Then I will insert Ruby's blood directly into the wound. He may spend his life as a wolf, but I find it a far better option than no life at all. The wolf may not affect him. I'm not positive even that will work, but it's the very last option. I'm sorry," Regina said and realized that she actually meant it.

A powerful blast of magic cut through the room, a white blast hitting both Regina and Snow in the chest. The witch grabbed her chest and gasped, tears springing to her eyes instantaneously. Snow squinted at the dramatic reaction. She'd felt the gentle pressure of warm magic flood her chest, but not nearly as powerfully as the dark witch if her whimpering sobs indicated anything.

"Emma," she whispered. Hot tears of joy and then anguish dripped onto her cheeks as she felt Emma's love move inside of her once more and then fade. She clung desperately to it like a lifeline. She truly was empty without it. Emma had used magic, incredibly powerful magic. She'd not felt the rush of love when she'd been a foot in front of her yesterday, but she felt it now. She was alive.

"She's alive, Snow," Regina assured the distraught mother. Snow grabbed her shoulders when she faltered. "She's alive, and…"

Nails dug into Regina's already injured chest, tearing open the wounds. Snow grabbed her hand and pulled it away. "No! I feel her. Just let me feel her. She's fading," Regina explained and closed her eyes, trusting Snow to keep her upright or let her fall, whichever suited her.

The other woman released her hands and stared at the transformation. Regina's brown eyes brightened visibly and not from the shimmering tears leaking at a steady rate. The harsh lines etched into her skin receded until a sort of youthful exuberance shone on her reverent face. The entire tense and defensive energy that generally surrounded Regina slipped away, replaced with the quiet strength and compassion that had clung to her since she and Emma left Storybrooke.

This was who Regina truly was. She was her daughter's true love, and without her love, she was nothing but a shell. A breathing shell of a being that no longer lived. Finally, Regina's aversion to Emma's touch and ending their engagement suddenly made sense. How incredibly torturous to be near Emma when she no longer felt her? She retreated to David's side and grasped his hand, reaffirming her own true love.

"Emma," Regina breathed. "Stay with me," she begged. Snow watched the light fade around the sorceress. Slowly, the deep anguished lines returned to her face. Her shoulders coiled with tension and grief once more. A strangled sob tore from her throat.

"No! Stay with me!" She dropped to her knees and clutched her chest as Emma's essence faded away. Broken wails echoed off the small cabin. Blood seeped into Regina's shirt from the cuts Rumpelstiltskin had made, but she no longer had the ability to separate physical pain from the anguish in her soul.

"Emma!" The raspy scream made Snow jump and clutch David's hand.

Ruby skidded to a stop at the door, cape nowhere in sight, jarring the former princess further. She'd been on a scouting mission with Hook. Had she heard Regina that far away? Her chest heaved as she caught her breath, and Snow realized that, yes, she'd come that far that fast.

"Regina," she caught the her friend's attention vainly as she dropped to her knees.

She pulled Regina's head against her chest, and the tortured sobs worsened. Still, she held tight, rocking gently with the unspeakable storm in Regina's soul. Hook slowly entered the room, panting and clutching Ruby's cloak about ten minutes later.

"I felt her. She was with me again," Regina said in a raspy deadened voice when she finally calmed.

"I know, Mama Bear. We felt it, too. Like a blast of light, and then an overwhelming feeling of… love. It was powerful. That might have been the most incredible thing I've ever experienced in my life. Like, it stripped away all of my fears and insecurities and was just… unconditional….Crap. Oh my god. Regina," she babbled, not truly grasping the effect of her words as they spurted from her lips. Gentle fingers tipped Regina's wide, unseeing eyes to hers.

"That's what you felt before they took it?" The question stung both of them.

"That's what Emma feels like," she confirmed quietly.

Ruby's chest deflated with a sharp pang of grief, shoulders collapsing towards each other under the force. Regina would never recover unless they discovered a way to bring back her love. She knew it for certain now.

"I think I'd like to finish this antidote now," Regina said suddenly and pulled from Ruby's warm arms.

Snow, Hook and Ruby glanced around each other in concern. They'd all felt Emma Swan's essence momentarily, but it hadn't left them empty and aching when it'd gone away. It felt more like an orgasm, intense at first but faded slowly, leaving a dull happy feeling. For Regina, she felt the exact thing she'd lost and may never have recovered. It hurt them to lose the feeling, and they only imagined how much emptier Regina must feel.

Wordlessly, she played with the temperature levels of the makeshift chemistry lab they cobbled together in attempt to save David's life. Her face was calm, hands steady. She'd shut down completely. She wasn't Regina. She wasn't The Evil Queen. She was nothing. She was broken.

Ruby wrapped her arms around herself and left the room without another word. There was nothing left to say. When she reached the deck, a torrent of tears gushed onto her cheeks. Belle. Every moment made her yearn more deeply for the other woman. If she lost her the way Emma and Regina had lost each other, she seriously doubted that she had the strength to come this far, even though they hadn't obtained True Love without sharing hearts.

The whoosh of a figure moving at top speed through the water pricked her ears. She leaned over the deck and honed her ears and eyes. Mermaid. In a moment, the net Snow used to catch the first one during the storm crunched into the water as the figure surfaced. Ruby pulled it taut, hefting it easily over the side of the deck.

"Hook! Snow!" She yelled over her shoulder as she stripped the water dweller of her bag and any sea shells carried on her person. Two sets of feet hit the deck, faltered, moved forward at a more reserved pace.

"Ariel!" Snow cried and jerked the net free of her long lost friend. They hugged while Hook and Ruby exchanged a confused look.

"Oh my god. How did you end up in Neverland?" Snow asked as she pulled back. Ariel moved her mouth a moment before her face dropped sadly.

"Ruby, go get Regina. Now," she ordered. Ruby took off towards the lower deck. Snow and Ariel smiled at each other.

She returned a moment later with Regina in tow. The sorceress and mermaid stared at each other, one in shock and the other in rage. A green tail flipped in Regina's direction, and the mermaid pointed at her throat fervently. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Right, your voice," she taunted and then flung her hand towards the mermaid.

"Go to hell, you slimy bitch of a sea urchin!" Ariel yelled and then grabbed her throat. "Sorry, that's been a long time coming." She glanced around at the rest of the crew, clearly embarrassed by her outburst.

"Ooo, mermaid's got teeth," Regina baited her coldly. Ariel glared. If Snow and The Evil Queen worked together, they must have a perfectly good reason for the truce.

"There's a woman named Emma Swan. Do you know her?" Ariel asked Snow rather than take Regina's bait.

"Yes, she's my daughter," Snow blustered. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Where is she?" Regina sniped. If Snow asked the questions, they have spent all day and not have gotten further than this.

"She was being held in Skull Island by a man. Emma yelled at him about women named Belle and Ruby, and then the magic happened. Pan took her after that. He said that there was a way to restore her true love, but she had to put her heart in a woman named Regina." Ariel glanced between the women.

"It you're Ruby, and you're Snow… The Evil Queen is Snow White's daughter's true love?" Ariel nearly gagged on the words. "How is that possible? Aren't you like over 30 years older than her?"

"No, Regina is Emma's true love," Snow corrected. "It's a long story Ariel, and I promise to tell you when this is over, but we need to find Emma. Please. Can you take us to where Pan abducted her? Perhaps we can follow his trail."

"The bitch has a name?" Ariel spat and glared at Regina. The other woman clenched her jaw in anger, and then her face relaxed into nothing. Her eyes were hollow, dead, and Ariel faltered in her righteous rage. The Evil Queen committed some pretty heinous acts, but she'd never looked dead inside. Rage-filled, sure. Grief-stricken, yes. Vengeful, absolutely. But she'd not been empty. How the hell had she gotten like this?

"Go that way around the island. It's faster and safer on the ship. I'll show you when we get closer," Ariel instructed and pointed her dainty hand for Hook's benefit, but her eyes studied the desolate landscape of a woman once vibrant with beauty and life.

Regina turned without expression or words and disappeared below the deck once more. The new antidote mixture should be ready to try, and she wanted it to work so that she needn't have tried anything new. At this point, whether he lived or died mattered very little to her. She only wanted to lay down and go to sleep and never wake again. What she wouldn't have given for another sleeping curse.

"Open your mouth, Sheppard," she ordered.

Charming panted, sweat beading on his brow and staining his shirt. He hadn't much time. He wasn't lucid enough to hear her command or perhaps not strong enough to obey it. She held the small bottle of black liquid in one hand, a dropper in the other. She sucked some of the liquid into the glass tube and then use the pinky of that hand to open the man's mouth. She emptied the entire dropper and then gave him another for good measure. She'd never worked with wolf magic before, so everything she tried was absolutely, 100 percent winged and improvised.

"Swallow, you idiot," she demanded. By the grace of some unseen deity, he obeyed.

She slumped onto the bed numbly. The dropper and the vial of black antidote dangled loosely in her hands between her legs. Shoulders bent with the weight of her burden. Brown eyes glazed as she stared so hard at the wooden planks of Hook's ship until she no longer saw them. This was her fate, her life.

She had nothing to live for except Henry, and she wasn't certain even he was enough anymore, not when everything hurt as much as it did. It wasn't a wound that healed. A part of her had been amputated, and now she resigned herself to the phantom pains inside her soul for as long as she lived. The ship rocked and swayed as Hook guided them towards Skull Island, easing her from the self-imposed entrapment within her mind.

"Regina," a rumbling male voice said. "Emma?" David asked after his daughter's whereabouts.

"She's alive. We're going to the last place she was seen. How are you feeling?" Regina explained the situation as evenly as possible, taming her excitement. Excitement led to disappointment. She touched his clammy skin. His fever had broken. She'd done it. A genuine smile tugged at her lips.

"Oh you stupid, stupid man," Regina pressed her forehead into his chest. Her hadn't yet acclimated to the reality that she'd just saved his life. Quivering hands jerked his shirt up and ripped the gauze from his wound. It remained an angry red, but the bubbling puss of poison had disappeared. He was going to live. It wasn't exactly as fast as Ruby's hyper-healing, but she took it for what it was worth: his idiot life.

"Hold on. I'll go get Snow." She moved from the bed, but a tug of his hand pulled her eyes back to his.

"Thank you," he breathed, not quite strong enough to speak properly. His eyes, however, shone brightly with the gravity of what she'd just done for him and his family.

"You're welcome," she returned just as quietly.

She patted sweat from his forehead with the corner of the sheet and then touched his face with the back of her knuckles. A casual observer might have mistaken the gesture as her checking for fever, but they came to an understanding in that moment. Even without her love, Regina protected Emma fiercely, saving the life of a man she'd hated for most of hers in order to spare her more pain. His opinion truly never mattered; Emma and Regina were destined to be together.

"I want to give her away if I can't walk her down the aisle," he confessed suddenly. Regina's head bowed under the emotion of statement. Acceptance.

"If we ever make it there, David, maybe she can walk first," Regina compromised. His clear eyes misted with tears.

"You'll get it back," he said firmly, sounding more like his irritatingly optimistic self, and squeezed her hand.

"I hope you're right," Regina said sadly, allowing a sliver of hope to eclipse her dark heart. His eyes slipped shut, and she quietly retreated towards the deck.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and leaned against the wall. She'd saved him. Emma would be spared that pain even if they never retrieved her love. Her head fell forward, weighted with emotion and exhaustion and a mild concussion. Despite the pain close proximity brought, she yearned to see Emma's beautifully youthful face and bright green eyes again.

"Emma, how am I supposed to believe in something I can't feel?" She asked aloud, eyes closing as though she prayed to her god. "Help me believe, Emma."

_Listen to my heart._

Green and brown eyes flew open as the collective thought bounced around inside both of their minds in Emma's quietly confident voice. Regina pressed a hand to her chest, and Emma jerked against the restraints on her wrists.

Emma strained valiantly, but the chains held tight. She hadn't a clue how to tap her magic without someone attempting to remove her heart, and Pan was far too smart to risk that when she clearly found an abundance of fight deep down in her reserves. As quickly as it had come, the connection with Regina faded and slipped away completely.

"Just believe, Regina," she whispered, praying that her soul mate somehow heard her plea.

"Sedate her," Pan ordered, and a tall boy with dirty blonde dreadlocks jabbed the splintered wood into her arm.

This felt different than the last. She remained conscious, lucid even, but her body went limp in the chains. Her legs crumpled from beneath her body, knees hitting the dirt painfully. Her shoulders fell towards the ground as far as the chains allowed, just enough to put uncomfortable pressure on her shoulder joints but not enough to allow her the comfort of lying on the ground. Her wrists took the entire weight of her torso under protest. She gritted her teeth.

"I'm going to kill you so bad, Dumbo," she threatened. "Your ears would look fantastic in a trophy room." Her voice was hollow and sounded like an echo in her ear, like the exact opposite of helium. It was deep and wobbly, a voice from a nightmare or one of those creepy voice distorters the kidnappers on television always used when they made the ransom call, but it had fallen from her lips. It had to be the sedative.

The boy with dreadlocks hesitated, and Pan clapped him on the shoulder. He raised another stick with a red hot tip, intentions of torture clear. Emma narrowed her eyes.

"Now, we can do this the hard way, or you can give me your heart now," Pan stated his ultimatum with bemusement, almost wishing she put up a fight. He'd not properly tortured anyone in awhile. Emma sneered and met his eyes.

"I've never done anything the easy way. Kill me if you want. You've already taken her, but you won't get what you really want. You can't take my heart without my consent," she said and then chuckled when his eyes hardened. He was pissed, and gave her satisfaction, spurred her forward.

"Come on!" She yelled at the boy, grinning wider when he jumped in fear at the sudden loudness of her voice. He glanced at Pan, received the nod of approval, moved towards her again.

Emma breathed into the pain when the hot stick burned through her jeans and seared the flesh of her thigh. It wasn't that bad, really. A confused expression filled the boys face, and Emma grinned, ignoring the pain. He hadn't expected that. Good.

"That all you got? Come on!" She screamed, wishing she had the ability to rattle the chains keeping her in place.

He stoked the stick into the fire for a long moment, pulled out a brightly glowing tip and pressed it against her outstretched bicep. It was hotter than the last, and no fabric protected her flesh. A deep, rumbling hum vibrated her throat, and she gritted her teeth to keep form crying out. He repeated the procedure, a small grin of his own peeping out to say hello. Pan's eyes slid shut when the boy pressed the hot tip into the exact same spot on her arm.

She gritted her teeth. Green eyes slammed shut. A scream tore from her throat. The boy stepped back, pride evident in his puffed up chest. She recovered with a few deep breaths and then met Pan's eyes. Something primal woke inside her heart, and a snarl pulled her lips back.

"Again," she ordered.


	24. No Means No

Hello Dovies! So, I'm trying super extra hard to get this story finished before my birthday because I always take off and disappear into the woods for three to five days for a wonderful technology purge and reconnection with nature. We are leaving on the 17th and returning on the 21st. So, for those asking if the story is getting close to the big finale, the answer is yes, at least in terms of when it will be finished. I can't speak to how many more chapters exactly, but I promise to not leave you hanging for a week!

That said, thanks for the reviews! I'm so excited that everyone is enjoying themselves in a masochistic sort of way. Keep the faith, and leave me some love.

Warning: torture

Songs: Fighter by Christina Aguilera, Ice Queen by Within Temptation

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Seared flesh filled her nostrils as she groaned to life. The reality of her situation crashed around, and an explosive rage jerked her head up. Her body cooperated now. Slowly, she raised herself onto her knees, taking the weight from her knees and shoulders. The joints ached and crackled as she struggled to her feet. Shoulder blades hit the wall with a grunt, vibrating all the way to her hips. If she thought everything hurt before, her definition of everything needed severely broadened.

The skin of her arms twisted and pulled, but the burns had gone numb before she awoke. They were deep, and her eyes refused to look at the damage. Her legs, however, felt the scrape and scratch the denim of her ruined jeans against the burns left there by Pan's sociopath henchman. Hysteria rose in her chest, and she breathed into it, allowed it to chip at the remaining stronghold of sanity and strength she'd tucked away just incase she actually made it out of here alive. She believed that Regina's love would be restore more than she believed in her own lifespan. She distracted herself from the pain.

"Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh. Tubby little chubby all stuffed with fluff… Are those the rights words?' Her voice ground and scraped against her dry and damaged throat. She had spent ten minutes screaming, once in pain and then in anger and then in pain again. Over and over, she'd yelled at them until she blissfully passed out.

"C-c-c-chip N Dale. Rescue Rangers!" She burst excitedly. "I remember even less of that one." She chuckled at herself and settled for humming the Mario theme from the original game.

"Yoshi. I need a motherfucking Yoshi. Bitches can fly. Fly me home. Fly me to you." Emma babbled and then shook her head, wincing when she regretted it immediately. The stiff muscles of her neck protested at the motion and stars exploded in her vision.

"Oh, that's bad." She giggled. "That is really not good at all." Had she lost her mind or was the injury from Rumpelstiltskin worst than she thought? Where was Regina? Why hadn't she come for her yet? She promised never to leave, and even without her love, Emma knew she'd meant it. How much more could she withstand before giving into Pan's wish for her heart?

As much as it takes to protect Regina. She knew the words were true the second they filtered into her brain's jumbled mess of random flashes and songs from her childhood. She hid in the happy jingles but denied that fact to herself. She dissociated from physical and emotional torture from the past few weeks. She'd felt herself slipping since the first evening she listened to Regina's message, but when she lost their love connection, she stopped fighting it. What was the point to feel when she couldn't feel her?

What was the point now? Because you can get it back, she reminded the silly doubts, washing them away immediately. She would feel Regina again, in her hands, in her heart, in her soul. Theirs was a love too strong to be stopped by a simple machine that extracts magic. They had love before magic, and if it took another two years to rebuild it she vowed to take the time to help Regina love her again.

Her head jerked when the door to the shack opened. That same blonde kid and Pan entered. Her eyes narrowed, but a grin spread on her lips. The boy hesitated, and Pan studied her determined and spiteful expression.

"Shot to the heart, and you're to blame! You give love a bad name!" She yelled in rhythm, her raw voice nowhere near on key or pleasant to hear.

"That dose should have worn off by now," the boy said to Pan, worry lacing his tone. Pan only smiled. Emma had started to break. Between the emotional anguish of losing Regina and learning the truth in Echo Cave and the physical weakening of her body, it was only a matter of time before she begged him to take her heart and end it all.

"Not to worry, Felix. There is only so much one mind can take before it breaks," he explained to his right hand, a hint of sick glee in his voice. Emma giggled.

"Felix, the cat. The wonderful, wonderful cat." She met Felix's eyes. "You're a mangy sort of thing, aren't you? Go away, scruffy feline. My best friend is a wolf. Your best friend is an elephant." Emma babbled, her words completely nonsensical to the two Neverlanders. They hadn't a clue who Felix, the Cat was.

Pan crossed the room confidently. Emma took a deep breath and kicked his knee when he came close enough. A sickening crack bounced off the walls, and Pan howled in pain. Felix caught him immediately as he stumbled away from his prisoner. Emma laughed and began singing at the top of her lungs again.

"It makes me that much stronger. Makes me work a little bit harder. Makes me that much wiser, so thanks for making me a fighter!" She only wished that she truly felt the strength and confidence displayed.

"Dose her!" Pan screamed at her brazen resilience. She'd touched a nerve. Good, you little prig.

"Dose me, Cat! Come on, I dare you." Emma challenged. Felix hesitated. If she dared to attack someone as powerful as Pan, he knew his knees were on the chopping block next. He picked up the splintered stick and dunked it into a small vial of a dark liquid.

"Made me run a little bit faster," she said in a low rumble and pulled on the chains. Biceps bulged as her legs came beneath her by the sheer strength of her arms.

"Made my skin a little bit thicker," she continued as she found her feet and pulled her shoulders back, looking much more confident than she felt.

He jabbed the stick at her stomach. She anticipated his movement and pulled all of her weight with the opposite arm. It hit the wall and broke, but she wasn't finished. Sheer adrenaline lifted her body when she pulled with the other arm now that the drug was safely destroyed for the moment. One leg flew in the air in a round house kick, catching the boy on the ear with the toe of her boot. Her leg jolted painfully, but she grinned into the ache when Felix grabbed his head and stumbled away from her.

"Makes me that much smarter," she finished. The two injured boys stared with indignant anger and a hint of fear. Even without magic, Emma Swan was not to be underestimated. A mistake they'd not make again anytime soon.

Pan snorted and wet another splintered stick with the drug. He raised an eyebrow, met her eyes, and blew on the stick. It flew through the air faster than her reflexes. A grunt caught in her throat when it hit its mark in her stomach. It wiggled back and forth on the right side of her stomach. She hissed at it.

"I really need a fucking Yoshi," she mumbled as her legs crumpled beneath her. Her arms jerked painfully once more, and a sneer pulled her lips back, teeth bared in a feral snarl that still unnerved them.

"Bring it Bowser," she challenged him. The drug washed over her, dulling some of the aching in her limbs. That lasted as long as they refrained from harming her in some other way, but she accepted the reprieve for what it was.

"We have a special treat for you this time," Pan said and gimped to the door. Two boys entered with a similar contraption to the one Mendell used on Regina. She gritted her teeth. No one was taking her heart or it's magic.

"Good. You recognize this. Saves me from explaining its purpose. If you won't give me your magic, I'll take it." He leaned in close as he spoke, and a terrifying smile tugged at Emma's lips. He was desperate, which meant that whatever she had been doing was working.

"I almost can't see your ears from this position," she whispered conspiratorially. Pan gritted his teeth at her insolent tenacity. Emma pushed on step farther and bashed her forehead into his nose.

"Stupid bitch!" He grabbed his face, but blood seeped around his fingers anyway. She'd broken his nose. "Hook her up! And dose her again. She can still move her head," he ordered, pissed that he'd lost more face in front of his followers.

Emma's body completely disobeyed her commands a few moments after the second dose of whatever drug they used. The weight of her upper body tugged the shackles on her wrists taut. She grunted into the uncomfortable feeling. It wasn't exactly pain, but her ruined flesh burned and itched. It was nothing compared to the pain she felt when Pan pushed the red button on the machine.

Electric jolts lapped at her soul, wiggling into the nooks and crevices of her fractured heart. The pulse pulled and pluck at the magic it found there, and Emma gritted her teeth in satisfaction when it came away empty handed. Pan hit a different button, severing the machine's connection with her magic.

"No," she rasped and then coughed. She panted and pushed forward. "Means no," she finished with a chuckle.

Pan cried out in frustration when he picked up a crystal. Apparently, they'd extracted none of her magic. Regina's love was stored in a crystal somewhere? Rage boiled in her chest.

"Where is her love?" Emma demanded. Her voice womped and wobbled around her ear drums again. Did she actually sound like that or had the drugs fucked with her hearing?

"Oh, that's gone," Pan answered as he played with the dials on the machine. "I added the crystal with her love to the pool of magic in Skull Island. It was powerful, not as powerful as yours, but it supplied enough juice to run Neverland for at least another decade or two." He set the dial to his preference finally and then crossed to her. Her eyes were a harsh sea green before a storm when he lifted her head.

"The interesting thing about magic in Neverland… once it's been added to that pool, it cannot be extracted. It's gone forever, connected to the land." He taunted her. He wanted her angry. If she lost control of her anger, perhaps it made her love easier to find and suck from her heart.

"Which means her love will grow from mine, you little prick. Which means no matter how long you torture me, you will never touch it. Kill me now or let me go, and I might let you live." Emma threatened him, despite being completely unable to move physically. Pan laughed at the absurdity of her statement, but a dark glint in his eyes told her that she still frightened him.

"You will give it to me," he vowed. Emma laughed.

"You clearly are not medicated enough to handle reality right now. Speaking as someone who is medicated at the moment, you clearly are not." Emma's acerbic tone hardened his eyes. "I'll share if you'd like," she offered in a sweet voice.

He gritted his teeth, strode to the machine and flipped the switch. It shredded her soul with sharp claws. Her body jerked against the chains as involuntary spasms rocked the weakened limbs. Her neck snapped painfully when her head dropped to her rapidly heaving chest. No wonder Regina hadn't been able to hold onto her love. It picked apart her soul, like a brilliant neurosurgeon separating the individual nerves of the spine. Instead of healing, it's sole purpose was harm.

"Nothing," Felix said after studying the crystal for a hard moment. "Maybe she's right. We can't take it without her consent," he offered the theory hesitantly and received a backhand across the jaw for his trouble.

Pan desperately adjusted the dials as Felix silently reset the crystal. Emma never even tried to contain the raw, hollow scream that pulled from her throat from somewhere deep inside her soul. Even as she lost consciousness from the pain, the machine tore and gouged at her tender and broken heart. Her mind gave one valiant surge against the tug of unconsciousness, and her teeth clenched painfully.

"You can't have it," she gritted shakily. Her voice hollow and quaking from the spasms of electric shock pulsing against her weary muscles as much as her love. Her words were true, however, as long as she believed. The blackness consumed her vision blissfully, and she smiled when Pan's frustrated cry became the last thing she heard before it pulled her under.


	25. A Start

Because I'm awesome like this.

Enjoy!

Songs: Off with Her Head by Icon for Hire, Damn by Leann Rimes

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"Ruby, can you track those screams?" Regina demanded. The gut wrenching wails had begun a few minutes ago, and they all shifted uncomfortably, knowing Emma was tortured by Pan's hand.

"Way ahead of you, Mama Bear," Ruby muttered, tuning into the sound. She waited for another scream, barely breathing as she waited for another scream. It was distant, far away for the rest of her crew, but to her sensitive ears, it may as well have been ten feet in front of her.

"There!" She pointed into the direction. "Go this way about a mile! You should be able to find it from there!" She yelled over her shoulder as she sprinted into the thick jungle.

She was practically invincible, so they allowed her to gallivant off towards Emma as fast as her wolf speed carried her legs. Snow, Hook and Regina, however, jogged at a pace that allowed the poison-weakened Charming to keep up. Regina uncovered the cure to dream shade poisoning, but that only meant they wouldn't die from the poison. An entire realm away from proper medical care left too many variables. None of them afforded the luxury of being injured or taken out of commission by infection, maiming or death. They needed each other.

Ruby slowed her pace when her ears pricked, telling her the encampment lay just over the next hill. She stopped long enough to drag a huge X in the ground with the toe of her boot, leaving the others a signal that they reached the end of the line. Her lungs burned from the exertion, even her new wolf had physical limitations, and she'd pushed past every threshold.

Slowly, she crept towards a large tree at the top of the bank and peeked around. Her fingers jerked and clenched with anxious energy, the wolf rippling beneath her skin. It wanted blood, and she intended to oblige it. Any minute now, Ariel, she grumbled beneath her breath. A faint boom echoed in the distance, and Ruby breathed silently in relief. The mermaid had received Snow's flaming arrow signal.

Pan and two other boys exited a hut on the far side of the camp. One by one they disappeared to investigate the sound. Pan glanced around the camp almost as if he sensed her, and she sunk into the shadows. That left at least 30. Pan's army of young boys was a whole lot larger than they anticipated. She took a few steadying breaths. She was the distraction for the rest of the group. Once they retrieved Emma, Regina fried their asses, children or not.

With one last steadying breath, she loosed an echoing howl that Regina most certainly heard even at a distance and sprinted towards the camp. Arrows and sharp stones whizzed by her, and she dodged each one with perfect grace. She'd had enough of this place, and her grief and stress made her hyper focused. Mistakes were unacceptable. Her first attacker fell to the dirt grasping his throat as blood spurted from between his fingers. She never even paused.

The next suffered the same fate at the end of her incredibly long and sharp claws. An arrow hit her shoulder, slowing her enough for a group to pounce all at once. Claws slashed. A foot hit the back of her knee, and they came down atop the wolf in a dog pile. Blood sprayed onto her face as another boy lost his life. Feet and hands collided with ribs, legs, hips, face. The shaft of the arrow snapped, leaving the head imbedded. She howled and used her body as a battering ram as she sprang to her feet.

There were at least 15 boys around her, but not even their combined strength stood up to Ruby's single arm without her cloak controlling the rage and adrenaline. A blast of fire blew several boys away from her suddenly. Regina had arrived. Ruby blocked a dagger coming for her head, snapped the wrist the held it, claimed it as her own. She whipped around, her advanced reflexes keeping her upright against the barrage of knives, clubs and fists in her stomach, back and shoulders. She loosed the knife at the door Pan exited when Ariel set off the explosion.

An angry howl echoed around them as she spun in another circle, slashing the throat of any boy within reach. When no further attacks immediately came, she glanced around at the terrified faces of Pan's army. They were only boys, barely teenagers some of them. Guilt clenched her chest, and she pushed it away. They fought for the wrong side.

"We don't want to harm any of you!" She yelled, vaguely aware of soft gasps and rattling chains in the hut behind her.

"We just want Emma. Let us go in peace, and we'll leave you alone," she informed the boys heatedly, her wolf pounding against her veins. She wanted to kill them, wanted to watch the life leave their eyes.

Trembling fingers pulled a dagger sticking from her stomach and tossed it to the ground. The burning itch of wolf's healing began immediately. A few of the boys tensed or stepped back when she jerked the arrow head from her shoulder. A ragged growl vibrated her chest. She still felt the pain even if she healed almost instantly.

"Ruby, how long until you can carry Emma?" Regina asked. Her voice was thick with something Ruby hadn't heard since Emma was shot and in a coma. Had Regina begun to believe? Was her love returning?

"As soon as you can dig that crap out of my back," she responded hotly. The scent of burned flesh infiltrated her nostrils, and her wolf flared. She needed to leave this place before she killed every single person who hadn't stood up to stop Pan's torture.

"How bad is it?" She spoke to Regina, but her multicolored eyes kept close watch on the boys still brandishing weapons. If any of them even flinched in a way she thought threatened her queen, she'd have them for dinner.

"Bad," Regina clipped. Her voice was calm and even, but Ruby knew her, heard the undercurrent of emotion. Whatever had happened to Emma was going to be as traumatic for her as it was Regina. After all, she'd been held captive and tortured for days at the hands of Cora Mills.

"She's unconscious. We need to get as close to the ship as possible before she wakes," Regina ordered, knowing Ruby's wolf obeyed her every command.

"Is it safe to leave you behind, My Queen?" Ruby asked, and Regina sighed. She allowed the title for the moment. They had more important things to worry about.

"I'll be perfectly safe, Wolf Pup. Please go get her and get back to The Jolly Roger as quickly as possible. There," Regina said triumphantly as she finally managed to dig free the dagger tip stuck in Ruby's shoulder. Ruby drew a sharp breath but gave no other indication of pain.

"When you arrive, give her a dose of the antidote I made for David. I'm not certain she hasn't been poisoned. Either way, it should expedite healing." Regina said as an afterthought.

"Of course, My Queen," Ruby answered and then followed her commands.

She worked quickly once inside the hut. Snow and David looked at her in confusion when she grabbed some rope and bound Emma's arms and legs together, but they trusted Ruby and allowed it. It made sense when the wolf slipped her an arm into the circle of Emma's bound hands and hefted her onto a shoulder and then slid the other between Emma's thighs. She hefted Emma's weight, adjusting her as a child might backpack straps.

Gingerly, she stepped sideways through the tiny door, nodded to Regina and then took off towards the ship. They followed but soon fell behind. The Lost Boys watched them leave but made no threats. If Ruby felt Emma's deadweight, she indicated nothing in her ever graceful movements and steady speed. The only sign that she felt her precious cargo at all was the fact that she slowly pulled away from the rest of the group rather than disappearing within moments.

If Regina placed a bet on the reason, she'd have sworn every time that Ruby jostled Emma as little as possible while fulfilling her duty at the same time. Pan's cry of frustration followed them, and Regina stopped in her tracks. Snow also halted her movements, having been the two in back.

"Keep going," Regina ordered and summoned a huge fireball. Her hands rotated around the ball until it grew larger than her head.

"I won't leave you," Snow confessed breathlessly. Regina might have smiled if she wasn't so full of adrenaline and fear.

The ball of fire grew until Regina's arm span reached it's limit, if she went any larger, she'd have no control of the magic. Snow gasped when the hot ball of magic split into five separate balls around the size of her head. Regina created a distraction. They all flew in different directions, even one caddy corner to the ship. If they had gone in all directions except that one, Pan would have known instantly and awaited their arrival.

Regina wavered as the booms landed in the distance. Snow pulled her forward with an arm around her waist, supporting the weakened witch until she regained enough strength to break away and into a light jog. Regina nodded at her gratefully. By the time they reached the ship, Emma had been safely tucked into the bed of Hook's quarters and Ariel had been hoisted aboard.

The Jolly Roger had already moved too far from shore for them to board. Regina snagged Snow's hand without stopping and summoned her remaining magic reserves. They stumbled onto the deck, using each other for balance as they stopped their forward momentum. Snow gripped her biceps and heaved as reality settled around them once more. They'd done it.

"Hook, hold that bean at the ready, and get us as far from the island as possible. We can't leave until Emma recovers enough to go through a portal. I know that puts us at more risk, but traveling between realms might kill her if she's too weak." Regina ordered as she disentangled herself from Snow's arms, tossing the last bit over her shoulder as she descended the stairs.

Ruby glanced up protectively at her sudden presence. Her cloak calmed her rage, so she hadn't necessarily known she came down the stairs. Green eyes stared around the cabin, and Regina's shoulders dropped in relief. Ruby's blood potion worked on regular wounds as well as poison. David had probably been completely healed by now.

"Regina," Emma's raw, damaged voice called for her, and Emma reached for her with a hand attached to a mangled wrist.

"I'm going to go up top and keep watch for Pan. I'm sure this isn't over," Ruby dismissed herself quietly but not before kissing Regina's cheek and squeezing forearm in silent support.

"Regina," Emma called for her again, voice growing in strength. Something had changed between them. It was palpable. Emma's timid gestures of love disappeared, and Regina's hesitance followed it out the door as Ruby closed it behind her. The ache hadn't lessened, but she refused to allow it to dictate her actions anymore.

"Come here," Emma ordered and pointed at her hips, Regina's favorite spot. She constantly straddled Emma as often as the opportunity presented itself.

With a deep breath, Regina complied. A shocked gasp erupted from her lips when Emma sat up with more strength than she should have possessed and pulled their lips together with two hands on either side of her face. Their breasts pressed together, and Regina's body jerked with the familiar adrenaline and arousal Emma's toned body always inspired.

"Emma, stop. Emma, please," Regina pleaded and pushed her shoulders with shaking hands.

"No," Emma answered and met her eyes.

Air caught in Regina's throat at the unadulterated desire burning in those bright green eyes. Her chest heaved as Emma grabbed the ring between her breasts and jerked, breaking the thin chain. It clattered to the floor, and Emma grabbed her hand.

"Never again," she commanded quietly, but her tone told Regina it was a plea rather than an order.

She blinked rapidly when the warm metal encased her finger once more. Whatever possessed Emma in that torture hut lingered and gave into her primal urges of want, take, have. Regina swallowed roughly when those animalistic eyes met hers again as Emma pulled her left hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss over the ring. She opened her mouth to asked Emma her intentions, sucked in a harsh breath, closed it.

"I can't tell you what tomorrow will bring, Regina, but tonight, right now… I'm going to make you feel me again," Emma vowed, and Regina believed.

"And if you can't feel my love inside your soul, then you'll feel it in our child's," Emma said cryptically and pressed her hands flat against Regina's lower stomach.

"What do you mean?" Regina blurted weakly, distracted by the sudden throbbing between her thighs.

"This is Neverland. If you believe it, you make it happen, and I'm going to give you a child tonight Regina. And if I can't make you feel me inside again, the moment our child moves with life, you'll know. It will come back. True Love knows," Emma explained in a slow, reverent voice. She already sounded so much like her Emma, strong and resilient but still broken.

Tears dripped onto Regina's cheeks, but no other words filled the cabin. Her blue jacket crumpled to the floor, followed by two shirts and two bras. They were both filthy and covered in blood and sweat and tears, and they'd never wanted each other so badly in their entire relationship. Their bodies came together, hardened nipples brushing against warm flesh.

Lips met, moved, rediscovered. Gentle sighs surrounded them, and when Emma laid her lover atop the cool sheet and covered her heat skin with her own, tears slipped into their kiss. They knew this dance, and brains shut down as their bodies traced the steps perfectly.

Skin slid. Teeth scraped. Fingers slid into tight velvet walls. Regina dug her nails into Emma's back and shoulders, clinging for dear life as Emma stimulated her body perfectly. Her heart searched desperately for the accompanying emotion and came up empty again and again. Still, she gasped and sighed as her body reacted to the familiar touch of her lover. Her body remembered even if her heart couldn't.

"I love you, Regina," Emma whispered against her throat. Walls clenched around three steady fingers.

"I believe," they said again when Regina's breath hitched. She was close.

"Our daughter will have your hair," Emma continued, and Regina's hips bucked, increasing the pressure between her legs.

"Your skin." Thrust, thrust, sigh, clench.

"My eyes." Emma stroked her firmly and then slammed into her, intentions clear.

"My attitude." Regina moved bodily as Emma continued to describe the child she believed she made.

"Our combined intelligence and strength." Teeth clamped onto her pulse point, and Regina bucked. She was so close, and her love generally pushed her over the edge at this point. Not today, but Emma never faltered, never gave indication of defeat. She saw it through to the very end, no matter the consequence, good or bad.

"She'll restore your love," Emma whispered and slammed into her one more time. "I believe."

Regina came undone, and Emma drew with tiny flicks and wiggles of her fingers. She still knew how to drive Regina up the wall, love or not.

"I believe," Regina answered and then gasped as another wave pulled through her. She searched desperately for that tug of affection that had been inspiring tears with her orgasms lately. It never came, but neither had the pain of touching Emma that had become a constant throb.

Emma brought her down with lazy kisses on her lips and neck, no rush in her gestures. When Regina reached for her body with the intention of returning the favor of sexual pleasure, Emma's hand stilled her own.

"Just this," Emma explained as though Regina understood what it meant.

Lips connected, and Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's back. They allowed it to linger, one desperately filling herself with the love and the other expressing the emotions her partner no longer felt. A sliver of conscience told Regina that this should never have gone this far, but as Emma's lips continued to move against hers, she realized that she enjoyed the attention if the accompanying emotion was unattainable.

"How do you feel?" Emma whispered. Panting for breath, she pressed their foreheads together, and Regina's hand buried into hair against her scalp.

"Well, it certainly didn't disappoint, not that you ever had in this or any department. But I don't feel you, Emma. I don't love you, but I'd like to continue kissing you, if that's okay." Regina answered the question honestly.

"Do you believe?" Emma asked and grappled with her disappointment.

"I believe, Emma." Lips fell together and then parted at the sudden spark igniting beneath their skins, renewed passion, renewed lust. It wasn't love, but it was a start. Regina brought them back together forcefully and gave herself over to the heated touches.

They startled apart when a shrill scream met their ears from the deck above. Two women never dressed so quickly in their lives, but they weren't nearly fast enough to thwart the new attack. A swirling whirlpool of the portal sucked them in, but not all of them.

"Where's Ruby?" Regina yelled at Snow.

"Pan!" She pointed in the air where the wolf struggled and fought against a dark shadow that carried her towards the island.

Green and brown eyes met, immediately coming to an understanding. Emma grabbed her mother in a hug, and Snow pulled back with wide eyes.

"Emma! No! She told us to go without her!" Snow screamed. Emma shook her head.

"Take care of Henry! I love you, Mom!" She shouted over the roar of the portal.

They were too far in. Hook had no option but sail into the portal or risk killing all of them. David wrapped strong arms around his wife and nodded at his daughter and her true love. Emma met his eyes. Regina's arms circled her waist from behind, and they disappeared in a puff of purple.

Please let them come home was the collective prayer as the portal swallowed them, and left behind three of the strongest women and biggest heroes any of them had ever known.


	26. Who is Belle French?

Welcome back to Storybrooke!

Warnings: female badassery.

Songs: Acceptable Losses by Lisa Miskovsky

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"Hook! Throw another bean. Take us back!" Snow demanded the second they surfaced at the familiar port of Storybrooke. She clamored up the stairs so fast the she tripped and crawled the last two steps, stumbling onto the helm deck in a flurry of hysteria.

"Can't do that, Love. I've no more beans," Hook informed her gently. The woman had just lost two friends and a daughter.

"No!" The exclamation sounded more like the wail of a wildcat than a woman's anguish. She pushed Hook, and he allowed the abuse.

"Ruby!" Granny's gruff voice cut through the air, bouncing under the force of her abundance of bosom. Snow wailed again, and David caught her.

"Ruby!" Granny took in the scene and the direct absence of her daughters. "Where's Ruby?" She asked.

"David Nolan, where is my granddaughter!" She demanded, fear dictating her voice and actions.

"Pan," he rasped, caught up in the emotion of the moment. "He wait until we opened the portal to come home and then he took her. Emma and Regina magic flashed back to the island. He left his wife in Hook's hands and jumped the side of the ship, barely landing on the dock.

"She's not alone, Granny," he assured her and grabbed her shoulders. "Granny? Snow! We need an ambulance! Someone get some help!" David ordered and guided the elder woman's descent to the hard plank deck of the dock.

"Granny, take deep breaths for me. Snow!" His voice rumbled harshly as he called for his wife again. Hook landed beside him a moment later and sprinted towards town, presumably to get help for the grandmother of the woman he claimed to be in love with.

"Granny!" He checked her pulse. It was there, barely. She was having a heart attack. "She's okay, Granny. Emma and Regina are bringing her home."

"Gramps!" Henry called but approached at a much slower pace, a clearly injured Belle with a brand dress code leaning on his shoulders.

"Belle, use your phone. Call an ambulance!" David ordered. "I think she's having a heart attack!" What the hell happened to Belle?

She stopped and followed his orders. Henry continued to his side, leaving a gimping Belle to follow at a much slower clip. She barked things into the phone as she took Granny's pulse and spouted her age and a dozen other things that hardly seemed necessary. She touched the Elder Lucas' hair. Her voice was calmer than it should have been, deeper somehow. Whatever happened in Storybrooke the week they'd been gone had been bad.

They remained silent until the ambulance rolled up and then stepped back. Belle wrapped Henry in her arms watched them load Granny into the back of the bus. She was different, distant. Harsher or more worldly perhaps and completely without dress or makeup. She wore black combat boots and black leather pants with scrapes and scores along the knees and thighs and a plain black cotton t-shirt. Emma's new red leather jacket was zipped as far as her breasts and also had similar scuff markings. Belle had been in more than a few physical altercations since they'd left. Warriors wore leather to prevent unnecessary scrapes when they were thrown to the ground.

At her hip, a pistol rested in what looked like Emma's holster but wasn't because she'd been taken to Neverland with it still attached. Various leg harnesses carried a wide assortment of weapons from throwing stars to daggers. Two short, light weight swords hung at her back. Her hair clearly hadn't been tamed in a while and puffed out into a frizzy ponytail. She was the antithesis of the Belle they'd left behind, apparently two months ago.

"She didn't come home, did she?" She asked David calmly, freaking him out more than he already was by her unlikely and scary as hell appearance.

"I'm sorry, Belle," he said, fighting tears once more. "Pan waited until we opened a portal and then snatched her off the boat using a shadow being of some kind. Emma and Regina magic flashed back to the island at the last minute. They're going to rescue her even if they can't come back. She'll be okay. She's practically invincible there. Her wolf is different, stronger. She'll be okay." David assured the stranger before him. What the hell happened?

"Of course she will be," Belle said, not a trace of doubt in her words.

She turned fully to face him now that the ambulance had departed, and air caught in his throat at the jagged scar running marring her once perfectly pristine features from temple to jaw bone. It had been deep and made with something jagged, not sharp.

"Belle, how long have we been gone?" David asked, hand raising to his own face. Time apparently moved differently in Storybrooke than in Neverland.

"You've been gone nearly two months. Pan's people have returned. They keep searching for the trigger, and magical beings keep coming up missing. I have Blue and the rest of the fairies and all of the other magical creatures I could find in a strong hold and cloaked with a spell." She explained quickly and nodded to Snow as she finally recovered enough to leave the ship.

She held Ruby's cloak out with a shaking hand, and Belle touched it reverently. Ruby. She clamped down on the yearning for her lover before it consumed her and whipped it over her shoulders, securing it loosely around her swords and back. In their sheathes, they remained unobstructed. A splash jarred them from the moment, and Belle's hand slapped the gun at her hip. She relaxed only slightly when Ariel's head poked up from the water but perceived no real threat.

"You cast a cloaking spell?" David's mouth fell open, eyes wrinkling in shock or perhaps disgust. Fear. She had been Rumpel's bitch after all. Her deep blue eyes hardened.

"I have been the only thing standing between Storybrooke and the destruction of magic, hell the entire fucking town for nearly a month, and you failed to simply keep my girlfriend on a boat long enough to get through a portal. You don't get to look at me that way," she snapped and then took off down the street. She hadn't said Ruby's name, and her minor outburst was the only indication that she'd felt anything at all at Ruby's absence.

Henry glanced between his grandparents and Belle and then chased after the woman. The moment he tucked himself against her side, they disappeared in a swirl of mustard yellow-colored smoke, like Regina's violet. What kind of magic made that color? He'd neither seen nor heard of it before. Clearly, Henry hadn't felt safe being away from the librarian turned warrior, not even for a happy reunion with the people who used to be his self-proclaimed idols. What the hell had they missed and was it too late to fix it?

"Ariel, mermaids are magical. You might want to disappear until it's safe to resurface," Snow said. The redhead nodded, clearly scared and then splashed into the depths of the oceans.

They assumed Belle poofed to the hospital. He and Snow locked gazes for a solitary moment and then surged forward together. She drew an arrow and notched it on the string and he grasped his sword tightly. In light of the situation, she pushed her grief to the back of her mind and moved through the streets of Storybrooke at her husband's side. Hook fell into step as they reached him, his own sword at the ready.

They reached the hospital without incident, but then again, they hadn't seen a soul on the streets. Storybrooke looked like a ghost town, but it was in one piece, no doubt by Belle's influence. The warrior woman paced in the waiting room, Ruby's cloak flaring behind her with each precise turn of her body, but her face remained placid. The red fabric made a statement for all to see. Even without the love of her life, she carried on, behaved as a warrior, a protector, and she expected no less from her soldiers and the townsfolk.

Henry was tucked safely into a corner far from everyone else, and no matter how many times she turned, she never moved more than five feet from the boy. Hook, David and Snow approached hesitantly. Belle stopped with her back to Henry, not surprised at all to see them. One steady hand floated to her side, and the boy slipped beneath it instantly. She positioned him directly in front of her, pressed tightly against her front. An elbow rested on one shoulder, forearm stretched across his chest, and her hand gripping his other shoulder protectively.

The boy wasn't frightened by her at all, which meant she'd kept him safe while also giving him the emotional and mental support he'd needed. She hadn't become a monster, at least not where Henry was concerned. He seemed used to looking upon people he once trusted with skeptical eyes, everyone except Belle.

"How is she?" Snow asked. She reached out to touch Henry, froze at Belle's cold eyes and dropped her hands to her sides in clenched fists, more to remind herself not to come near Henry than out of anger.

"In surgery," Belle clipped. The skin around her eyes tightened ever so slightly, the only indication of her anxiety at the older woman's condition.

"What's happened here, Love?" Hook interjected when the Charmings floundered.

"War," she answered simply and tightened her grip on the boy in her arms.

"Since when can you use magic?" David blurted. Belle raised an eyebrow, one corner of her mouth quirking upwards. The expression disappeared almost instantly.

"Since I was a prisoner in Rumpel's castle," she answered evenly. Calm Belle was eerie without the usual brightness in her eyes and bounce in her step.

"What kind is it? I've never seen yellow smoke before," he pushed. She took a deep breath, deciding whether or not to trust the man who had just returned from the land ran by the person currently attempting to destroy her home. What if he'd had his heart ripped out and was being controlled?

"David, don't move," she ordered and then plunged her free hand into his chest, turning Henry slightly from the sight. He swallowed but remained still. She repeated the process with both Snow and Hook. Satisfied that everyone was who they were supposed to be, she took a steadying breath and loosened her hold on Henry without releasing the boy to his grandparents.

"It's Earth magic. Magic of intellect. Dark magic comes from hatred and is linked to a person's emotions. Light magic is the opposite, linked to love and purity. The magic I wield is that of intellect. I draw upon the Earth's power because I don't actually have any of my own, not the kind that's always inside. It's also called magic of the intellect because I have to say an incantation for each spell. It's not instantaneous like Regina's.

"If I cast a spell without being connected to the earth's power, I'll drain my own life force until there is nothing left, which means I must stay calm and vigilant of the earth at all times. Not that I'm not glad to see you. I am simply required to be on guard at all times." Belle spoke in that same creepy voice devoid of emotion and practically all intonation. She was as calm on the outside as she claimed to be on the inside. It was impressive.

"How many have we lost?" David pushed forward, not yet ready to deal with the reality of Belle's magical abilities yet.

"Most were lost at the beginning before we realized what was happening," she said. Henry pressed against her and covered her forearm with both of his hands. She touched the boy's hair lightly with her free hand.

"Cassidy, Ruby's waitress friend from the diner, fell during the first wave. Half of the fairies were gone before we even realized their endgame. Two gnomes and four elves are missing, unaccounted for. Happy fell at my side during our last altercation. I'm sorry, Snow," Belle said evenly as though she'd only just told the other woman that she'd broken a cup, not that one of Snow's personal guards had given his life to the cause. Belle paused for exactly one second and allowed them to absorb the information.

"Cinderella and Thomas two weeks ago. We were ambushed taking supplies those the stronghold. I couldn't…" She stopped and cleared her throat. Her eyes flashed with grief for a tiny moment before it receded slowly.

"The baby? Alexandra?" Snow pressed her hand over heart and let the grief simmer into rage.

"Safe with Mother Superior for the moment," Belle waved her hand, pleased that Snow channeled the pain into a useful emotion. She needed raging warriors, not grieving princesses.

"I've stopped the influx for now with another barrier spell, but it weakens every time I lose touch with the earth's life force. I'll have to undo the spell before I break the connection or it will kill me. No more can get in, but we haven't a clue how many are already inside Storybrooke." Belle shivered, and the other three adults wondered exactly how much strain the spell put on the librarian's thin shoulders. She saved them all, and they were willing to place money on very few people having access to that knowledge.

"You can add three more names to your list, Love," Hook offered valiantly. Everyone pressed back when a dagger suddenly pressed against Hook's throat. Belle gripped the handle tightly, the back of the blade supported with her forearm. Her other hand pointed Henry's front away from the vicious act.

"Give me a reason not to gut you right here after what you did to Ruby," she seethed for a hot second and then calmed again, but the blade remained pressed at the pirate's jugular.

"Take my heart if you must. I'm yours to command," Hook said graciously in his smug lilt, but his eyes spoke of a deeper emotion. He offered his life in contrition, penance for his crimes. Belle's brow furrowed and the dagger lowered slowly.

"One wrong move, Pirate, and I'll have your scrotum as a trophy. We clear?" Hook exhaled, shoulders falling in relief, and nodded once. His soulful eyes lowered respectfully, an incredibly submissive gesture. It was enough.

"Belle?" A soft voice broke the intense moment. Blue eyes followed it to Dr. Zambrano.

"Granny's going to be fine," the doctor said with a slight smile. Belle offered a head bow of her own to the surgeon.

"Thank you, Eva. You know how to reach me should the situation change," Belle clipped and then she strode towards the door with Henry tucked into her side and Ruby's cape billowing under the force of her steps.

The boy hadn't said more than a few words since they returned, which was incredibly unusual for him, but he clung to Belle like a life preserver. She'd been his only friend and source of comfort during this crisis, never let him down, always there to protect him. He followed her lead and stay within arms' reach.

The other adults followed as well. Belle French never stopped surprising any of them, and under her guidance, the citizens of Storybrooke had beaten back the new enemy threatening their family and town. They only hoped she'd done enough to squish it forever from this end while Emma, Regina and Ruby achieved the same from theirs.


	27. You Can't Hurry Love

Thank you for my wonderful reviews, My Doves! I love them. I love them dis much. Even da bad ones!

Warning: The feels! The FEELS! Muchly needed, but THE FEELS! You will smile, and perhaps cry.

Enjoy!

Songs: Stay by Miley Cyrus, You Can't Hurry Love by The Supremes (or in Emma's case The Dixie Chicks)

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"Yoshi, you missed the shore," Emma grumbled and rolled onto her back in the wet sand, hips and legs still in the water.

"Miss Swan, what are you on about?" Regina sniped and dropped onto her side beside Emma. They panted in silence, the only answer to the question a wave of Emma's hand.

Emma sat up first and washed the sand from her hands in the water. Something had gone wonky with Regina's magic, probably from the portal's influence. They landed in the ocean about 100 yards from the beach. Between their injuries and the sudden skipping over the water like flat stones, the swim strained them far more than it should have.

Regina mimicked the position and pressed their shoulders together. "We need to move. Pan probably doesn't know we stayed. Have you completely healed?" Wet black hair waved freely as Regina ducked her head and met Emma's hysterical eyes.

"Emma?" She searched and reached for the other woman, following intuition rather than the nagging voice that commanded she keep her distance. Emma came alive under the soft palm on her cheek.

Green and brown locked gazes for a moment before Emma dropped her eyes to Regina's stomach. She touched it with her fingertips at first and then pressed her palm flat against the sacred area. Adrenaline shot through two hearts, pounding out a feverish pace. Emma thought of their child, still.

"We really just did that. We're going to have a child, Regina," Emma whispered. Regina stiffened when she raised to her knees suddenly and replaced the hand on her stomach with worshipful lips.

"Emma," Regina breathed. She wanted to tell her that it wasn't possible, but the unwavering belief and reverent hands lightly caressing her sides and belly halted the protest. Trembling hands touched water-darkened golden locks, and Emma tipped her head up to meet black eyes in the darkness.

"Believe, Regina," she whispered and pressed a kiss upon her lips. And for a moment, wrapped in Emma's arms, accepting her kiss and her love, she did.

Emma pushed her shoulder gently, and Regina allowed her body to be lowered onto the cold wet sand. The tiniest swell of something other than emptiness burst in her heart, and Regina broke the kiss with a gasp before pulling Emma into her again. Desperate hands clutched Emma's face, keeping their lips firmly attached. Emma sensed the change and splayed her fingers over Regina's lower stomach and slid the other beneath Regina's head, holding her weight on her elbow. Both hands held pressure on their respective places, and Regina melted into the body of the woman she so desperately wanted to love.

She believed. Emma believed. They would have a child. Their child. And she'd carry it to term safely, unlike her many other failed attempts. She'd adopted Henry after a string of heartbroken miscarriages. No one but Emma had ever been privilege to that fact outside of her doctors. More important than belief, however, Regina was surprised to find peace. She wanted this as much as she wanted to feel Emma in her heart again. They were destined to find each other.

"Emma," Regina whined breathlessly when the kiss ended and pulled Emma's forehead into hers.

"I'm here, Baby," she assured, and her fingers twitched against her stomach. Already, before actual scientific confirmation, Emma's protective instinct for their child kicked in and stole a little more of Regina's doubts. Her belief wasn't as pure as Emma's, and the doubts and questions burdened her heart with the fear that perhaps this was only a fantasy inspired by the excited ramblings of a woman pushed too far towards the brink.

A howl in the distance destroyed the moment, and they jerked apart like they'd been burned by the touch. Ruby. The wolf required saving, and they owed her nothing less than their full attention. They found their feet together, an old familiarity washing over them as they acted in sync intuitively. When they reached the woods, Regina stopped and waved her hand over the tracks in the sand, concealing them from anyone who may have wandered onto the beach.

Silence encased them as they walked, but they spoke without words as they once had. They hadn't a clue where to go, but Regina figured the best place to start was the encampment where they found Emma. She hadn't seen enough of the scenery to poof them there, but she knew it wasn't far from the ocean. Her arm shot out instinctively and stabilized her partner when Emma tripped on a root for the third time.

"We should stop," she whispered and did just that.

"I can keep going," Emma insisted, and Regina shook her head.

"You're exhausted. You haven't slept or eaten in several days, being unconscious doesn't count," she added and held up a hand when Emma opened her mouth to protest. "I'm fairly certain you're still suffering from your head wound, either that or you've completely lost your mind. We should stop. We're no good to that stupid mutt if we get caught because we got sloppy." Regina scolded and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fine," Emma conceded, grimacing when her teeth chattered. For a jungle, Neverland was super cold, and they were wet. "A couple hours, right?" Regina nodded.

"I can't make a fire. It's too obvious. Come here," she ordered and leaned against a moss-covered tree. Emma followed, unsure of Regina's intentions.

"Your back is going to slit your throat in less than half an hour," Emma reminded her of her cushy suburban life where she'd begun to develop lower lumbar issues from sitting at her desk at the law firm.

"I'll live. Now sit down and lean against me before I knock you down and drag you over here, Miss Swan," Regina clipped and pointed between her spread knees. Regina conjured a cheeseburger as extra incentive. Now that she knew what they tasted like, she even made provided the correct flavor. Emma obeyed the commands in light of the food.

She leaned back, scooting and wiggling until the back of her head rested against Regina collarbone. The intimacy of the position wasn't lost on either of them, and tense silence stretched over them as Emma ate her burger. She felt Regina's chest heaving into her back, belying the fear that remained unspoken. She felt it, too, but mostly just relieved to touch Regina again after two weeks of looking for her and then another of being constantly pushed away.

She shoved the last big bite into her mouth, wiped her hands on her jeans, and reached for Regina's arms. She met a slight resistance, but after a moment, Regina's arms stretched around her ribs just below her breasts. Emma sighed and ignored the burning behind her eyes. Regina was coming home.

"Babe?" She asked, and Regina hummed. Emma rolled onto her side, positioning the natural curve of her waist over Regina's hips. It was surprisingly more comfortable than she anticipated and granted eye contact with the quiet woman beneath her. She wrapped an arm around Regina and laid her head on her chest.

"What does it feel like?" She asked and touched the place where her heart beat beneath her chest.

"Empty, Darling," she answered, much like she had when Ruby asked.

"What are those marks on your chest?" Emma raised her head and stared at the now covered area. "I saw it before on the ship, but I'm pretty sure I was too out of it to recognize anything going on beside what I wanted." Emma admittedly, a hint of shame in her voice.

"Wonderful that I also wanted what you wanted," Regina soothed her fears and scratch nails into her wet scalp. Emma relaxed, and she sighed.

When she pulled the collar of her shirt down, Emma tugged the other side. Green eyes hardened as she studied the skin more closely now that she was less crazed and desperate for Regina's touch. Regina cocked her head to the side at the dramatic reaction.

"Emma?" It was a worried whisper. What had her lover seen? Emma pulled a deep breath through her nose and met her gaze with violent eyes and a clenching jaw.

"Did they tell you what this says?" Her voice was cold and deep, and Regina found herself thankful that Emma wasn't mad at her.

"Says?" Regina's eyebrows shot towards the sky. Emma averted her gaze, took a deep breath, and brought it back to Regina's.

"It says 'Property of The Dark One,'" Emma informed her evenly, forcing her own feelings to the side in order to help Regina accept this new reminder of her pain. The marks weren't life-threatening, but they would scar.

For a moment, nothing happened. No outbursts or tears or temper tantrums. Regina's dark eyes shimmered with tears after the moment of stillness passed. Her head lifted slightly and she swallowed. Tears dripped silently onto her cheeks.

"I will never be his as long as I'm yours," Regina admitted in a quiet but deep, much deeper than Emma had ever heard, voice. It rasped and rolled and rumbled, exciting goose flesh along Emma's arms and neck.

"You will always be mine," Emma answered with a few tears of her own. Her voice echoed Regina's hushed tone if not her deep timber. Emma cupped her cheek gently and pressed her lips along a defined jaw line. An emotional sigh pulled from Regina's throat, the only indication that Emma had brought her back from the dark precipice Rumpelstilskin constantly pushed her towards.

"Emma," Regina whined and pressed her face into wet hair. Emma stilled, simply holding her head against her tortured lover's.

"I'm trying so hard to love you," Regina confessed. "It simply won't come." More tears slid into Emma's hair, and the blonde smiled as renewed faith in them washed over her and brought with it inspiration to make Regina smile as she once had.

"I need love, love to ease my mind. I need to find, find someone to call mine," she sang in a raspy voice. She really couldn't sing, injured or not, but god was it fun. Regina pulled back and looked at her in confusion. The words sounded familiar, but her hazy mind lost the placement. What was Emma doing?

"But mama said: you can't hurry love. No, you'll just have to wait. She said, love don't come easy," Emma continued and met her gaze with a shit eating grin on her face.

"It's a game of give and take," Regina finished the line with a smirk. "I can't hurry love. No, you'll just have to wait." Her voice wasn't much better than Emma's, but something in her heart lifted.

"You've gotta trust. Give it time," Emma picked up the proper lines, excitement growing.

"No matter how long it takes!" They sang together, and Emma pulled back onto her he knees, bringing Regina up with her. Regina's eyes slipped shut, and Emma simply observed her face, tongue still on the tip of her teeth. Her voice rose, lifting with her spirit, and Emma nearly jumped out of her skin at the flood of jubilee into her soul.

"But how many heartaches must I stand before I find a love to let me live again. Right now the only thing that keeps me hanging on when I feel my strength, yeah, it's almost gone, I remember mama said," Regina sang, and Emma watched the light return to her lover's eyes. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Emma pulled them both to their feet, exhaustion and fatigue forgotten. Between the small break and the cheeseburger, her energy had returned anyway. Screw Pan. Screw this whole damn place. Let them hear. Let them fear a union so strong that not even the complete loss of love destroyed. They were coming for Ruby, and he better run for his ears.

They practically yelled the chorus again and threaded the fingers of both hands together. Two smiles ached into unused muscles that refused to thwart the gesture. Emma fumbled for the next verse, but Regina's clear voice carried her through. Of course Regina Mills knew every single syllable to this song; everything she'd done in the past 30 years had been in the quest for love. So she settled for spinning Regina and waiting for the next chorus.

"Now I can't bear to live my life alone." Spin.

"I grow impatient for a love to call my own, but when I feel that I," Dip. Smile.

"I can't go on, these precious words keep me hanging on. I remember mama said." Kiss.

Regina buried her hands in wet hair and pulled them together. Emma's hand pressed into her shoulder blades, pushing her shoulders forward. If she seen them from the outside, Regina might have scoffed at the feminine posture and school girl vulnerability. They parted, locked eyes, came together. It was fun and lighthearted, not deep and heated as they had been on Hook's ship. Regina was falling again, Emma sensed it.

She'd found the giddy stage of a new relationship, one that they initially skipped because of her getting shot and the Cora situation. Even after they'd left Storybrooke, they hadn't ever been giddy, nowhere near what they felt now. The energy rolling off Regina in waves intoxicated her as much as her lover. Regina Mills was giddy. It was beautiful.

"Ah, true love," Pan's smug voice broke the moment.

Instead of pulling apart, Regina pulled them closer. One hand flew towards the boy demon faster than should have been possible. A swirl of violet and shimmering blue energy smacked the boy square in the chest. Emma gasped and shuddered as her magic pulled through her by Regina's influence. Jolts of electricity flowed through her and then settled into an anxious, jittery feeling.

The boy flew backwards a few feet and landed hard on his back. Regina snatched her hand and pulled her forward, the other still outstretched. Another swell of energy surged through her and into the hand Regina squeezed. Pan struggled against the immobilization but wasn't strong enough to break it.

"Where is she?" Regina asked darkly, a combination of dangerous and giddy. It was terrifying and intoxicating and arousing. Emma merely clung tightly and watched her true love be the badass she was.

Regina loosed a guttural cry and grabbed his hair, jerking his head back. Her hand slipped from Emma's, and Pan immediately broke free from the hold of their combined magic. Emma stepped into her path as she flew back from Pan, taking the brunt of the fall on her back with Regina on top. They were connected again, and Pan faltered, sneered, and then flew off.

"Regina, get him!" Emma yelled, but Regina chuckled and then rolled over on top of Emma. The savior spread her legs to accommodate the new position more comfortably.

"What are you doing? Get him!" Emma ordered and waved her hands dramatically above Regina's head.

"I got him," she said triumphantly and held up one of Pan's hairs. That's why she let go. She wanted him to believe he'd won the fight or at least a part of it.

She unsnapped the chain around her neck and opened the locket. Inside there was a tiny vial of something. She dipped the hair in it, mumbled a few words, pulled on Emma's energy.

The hair sparked and floated in the air between them before taking off through the jungle. Regina pulled back, bring Emma with her as she sprang to her feet.

"Move it, Savior!" She ordered as she took her hand and pulled her through the woods.

"What the hell is that?" Emma asked after she stopped stumbling and fell into step beside Regina.

"It's a locator potion. I stole it from Rumpelstiltskin a long time ago when I was his student. I wanted to be able to find Snow White wherever she went. That's how I kept track of her," Regina said with a chuckle.

"She thought I was omnipotent. Silly trollop." She smiled again and then shook her head.

"I only remembered I had it while going through all the magical trinkets in the shed behind the mansion after you'd been kidnapped. I was going to use it to find you, but Pan made that so very easy both times. I only had enough for one more spell, so I saved it." Regina explained excitedly.

Emma stared, tripped on a root, stumbled, righted herself. She had the most incredible woman in the world. Now, she only needed to strip away the rest of her doubts and reservations about believing in love again. Clearly, even True Love can be ripped away, and Emma knew Regina feared believing in that completely again. It was coming. She felt it.

She followed Regina's lead and kept believing.


	28. Taking Back Storybrooke

Megzs: Thank you for your comment on the last chapter. I tried to make it as cheeseless as possible, which is why I went with a song that practically everyone knows. And if you're reading this and you don't, you should go listen to the feel goods.

Warnings: graphic violence

Songs: Daughters of Darkness by Halestorm

* * *

Belle's accented timbre rumbled through the small third story platform in the warehouse-like building, and David listened to the story she read Henry and glanced around his environment. Snow had offered to stay with Granny at the hospital, so he and Hook followed Belle to the cloaked stronghold. Hook had since disappeared with his flask and a pained look of guilt in his eyes.

Cots were strewn along the walls and supplies neatly stacked on rusty shelves on the ground floor and other larger platforms. Two cots were in this particular area, one for Belle and one for Henry. Despite the Spartan furnishings and the moist air, a warmth of camaraderie and mutual support in the energy. If a dispute arose, Belle was the final say and in her absence Mother Superior, and no one argued with her ruling. She was quite an impressive leader, but then she'd been trained to be a ruler. She found no joy in it. He saw that in her haunted blue eyes. She took the responsibility of each and every life, those still living and dead. She felt each of them as if they'd been Ruby or Emma. That's what made her a good leader, but it's also what tortured her now.

He glanced at the cot where she sat reading to Henry for the hundredth time and observed the scene. She leaned against the wall with one boot propped on the bed, supporting the book, and the other on the floor. Henry laid beside her on his side, back to his grandfather with one hand wrapped around her ankle and the other tucked beneath his chin. Belle alternated between rubbing his shoulders to running her fingers through his hair absently as she took him on an adventure away from the horrors he'd obviously seen in the past month. Why had it taken them a month to attack? Why not immediately after they left?

Charming mulled on the thought and watched his grandson's breath even out and grow deeper with each expansion of his ribs. He jerked one time, like an infant fighting sleep, and then closed his eyes for good. Belle continued to read and stroke his hair. After about ten minutes of reading to no one, she glanced down. Her face softened, and her fingers traced the shell of his ear, his face. Silently, she closed the book and eased off the cot, turning back to brush his hair one more time and then kiss his forehead. He'd grown up in a way a child should never have to, by losing his innocence.

Belle sighed and unzipped Emma's coat, shrugging it and her swords from her shoulders and draping them over the foot of the cot. Her hands tugged Ruby's cloaked around her as her head bowed. It last about five heartbeats before she released the comforting fabric and moved to the waist-high table on the other side of the platform from him and Henry. He studied her profile.

She was clearly exhausted, but in great shape. The muscles of her arms bulged and rippled with definition, and the shirt she wore looked like one he'd seen Ruby wear, which means the miniscule amount of softness in her body she'd once had was gone now, replaced with tight abdominal muscles and bone. She rolled her neck again and squeezed the muscle connecting her shoulder and neck, discomfort obvious in her posture.

Without thinking, he crossed the platform quietly and covered her shoulders with his large hands. He gasped and held them in the air at his shoulders, however, when Belle broke free and turned on him. The barrel of the cocked gun pressed against his chin. She snarled and jerked away, releasing the firing pin and returning the gun to the holster at her hip. David gulped as she turned away from him.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I just wanted to help."

"Make noise the next time," she said and presented him her shoulders of her own volition. He took a deep breath and returned his hands to the tense muscles.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked absently, keeping his tone light intentionally. They'd been in a minor scrape earlier, and she'd blown past him in skill and speed. She was death in the compact package of a bookworm. Her shoulders tensed beneath his hands and then fell as she reigned in her emotions. The silence stretched so long that he thought she refused him an answer.

"In The Enchanted Forest," she whispered suddenly and then cleared her throat when it cracked under the words. She'd taken time to regain control of her emotions before answering him.

"I traveled nearly a year with a warrior named Mulan. She was rumored to be the best warrior in the entire land. I believe that rumor. Between my knowledge of monstrous creatures and her skill with a sword, we rid several kingdoms of many dangers. She taught me during those nine months how to use a sword, a staff, dagger defense, and these," she held up a throwing star for David to see.

"She was, for a very long time, my only friend after my family shunned me for trading my life to Rumpelstiltskin for theirs." She explained sadly and then sighed into the feeling of his huge, strong hands soothing her aching muscles. He honed into her reactions and focused his attention on the particularly sore spot he'd obviously just found.

"Sounds like you were happy. What happened?" David asked carefully and felt muscles bunch beneath his hand at the question. Belle sighed and dropped her head. David never stopped his gentle untangling of her weary muscles, so she stayed still rather than run away from that question as she normally did.

"Magic happened," she said quietly, and David almost missed the confession.

"You've heard of the Rockslide Massacre of Breck, I'm sure." He swallowed and nodded, realizing a moment too late that she couldn't see him.

"Everyone has. Rumpelstiltskin killed hundreds of men, women and children that day when he collapsed the canyon." David said succinctly. What part had Belle played in that tragedy?

"Rumpel didn't do it," she admitted almost inaudibly and then moved away from his hands. Shaking fingers plucked a rag from the table, and he simply watched the tortured woman clean and polish her weapons.

"A few of the men had kidnapped Mulan, caught her in a moment of weakness. I thought she was dead. The magic… Like Regina's, it consumed me slowly until there was nothing left but the addiction. All magic, even Earth Magic comes with a price.

"She returned a few days later, beaten and tired, but alive. She escaped, and I'd killed innocent people for a murder no one in that town had committed because the magic whispered in my ear that it was the right thing to do." She returned her weapons to their proper place on her body and then narrowed her eyes at him.

"No one but my father knows this, not even Rumpel, and my father isn't telling anyone anytime soon. He got the blame, but he never figured out who had done the crime. Not that he minded the boost to his ruthless reputation. Mulan didn't leave me, but she gave me an ultimatum. Her or magic. I chose magic, at least as long as it took me to feel the loneliness and complete debilitating weight of my guilt. When I couldn't find her again, I returned to Rumepl's castle. That's when Regina found me on the road that day and took me prisoner." Belle studied his neutral face for a moment. Licked her lips. Scratched the scar on her face.

"I'd appreciate this staying between us," she said, daring to allow a sliver of hope in her voice. "No one was ever supposed to know."

"Why tell me then?" He blurted the question, apparently in shock over what she'd said.

"Of all the people I trust, David, you are the only one with whom I am not particularly close. If I lose control… if I start killing needlessly, you need to put me down." His eyes widened and he stepped away from her involuntarily. Her forehead furrowed, and the muscles he just unkinked coiled tightly into knots once more.

"Here," she said and pulled a metal vial from a pocket of her pants. "Make me drink this. Don't confront me directly. It's a potion I took from Rumpel's shop. It's designed to temporarily disable the vocal chords. I have no idea what he used it for. I don't want to know, but I do know that I can't use magic without saying the incantations. This will give you exactly 24 hours to either get through to me or kill me. If you can't stomach another death on your hands, cut my tongue out."

"Belle," he protested but reluctantly took the container and tucked it into his pocket. "I… do you think there's a possibility of that happening?" No response. "Belle?" Coiled shoulders and a turned back. "I don't think you are capable of doing that Belle, killing someone you care for. I mean, there is no justifying what you did, but when I look at you and Henry together, I know you'd never hurt him." He tried to get through to the hurting woman in vain. She'd shut down already, ended the conversation with her silence.

"Did you mean to do it or was it an accident?" He asked. She faced him, something dark and dangerous and tortured and malevolent in her eyes. She breathed evenly and stared him down. He reacted visibly to the palpable energy emanating from her, and he knew. She had sought vengeance that day.

A blaring alarm saved him from her gaze. She moved immediately to Henry who had already sat up and looked around dazed and confused. She pulled him from the bed and hoisted his small body onto a platform above them. They locked gazes for one moment before he nodded and continued up the next ladder. They were already on the highest platform made into sleeping quarters, and now he moved to the platform furthest from the floor.

"Defensive positions!" She ordered in a loud, booming voice that her petite body hadn't seemed capable of producing. She adjusted her the straps of her sheathes as she blew past him.

"With me, Charming!" She said as she leapt from the railing and snagged a chain attached to a pulley system.

"Defensives!" She called again as she hit the ground running. "Get the children to higher ground!" A few non-warriors scurried with babes and school aged kids alike, Astrid and Grumpy among them. He was their last defense if they breeched the barrier.

Charming joined her on the ground a moment later. Archers and snipers took positions behind slight cover on the upper levels, staggered for optimum effect. Belle knelt in about 30 feet in front of the huge sliding door, the only entrance and exit. Swordsman gathered behind her, the cavalry so to speak. He drew his sword and crouched beside her when the hair on the back of his neck raised.

He studied her focused eyes and empty face and realized that she fully tapped into the power of Nature. Her hands circled around an invisible ball and grew in size. A loud bang against the door startled him, but Belle never even flinched or acknowledge the sound in any way. He really just wanted to stare at her but forced his eyes to the door. When her hands shook with the effort of containing the energy ball she'd created, her eyes flicked to the door. She jerked her head to the side and muttered an incantation simultaneously.

The door flew open, revealing at least 30 men and women with pistols, shotguns, swords, and bows at the ready. She muttered something else and pushed her hands towards the group of intruders. Bullets flew the moment they recovered from their shock, but they only had one shot. They bounced around them, flinging chunks of cement and bouncing off steel support beams. A ripple of energy pulsed off the walls, and the guns in their hands glowed brightly. Some of them exploded as their bullets discharged within the gun from the heat.

"Archers!" She screamed and pulled the swords from the sheathes at her back. Ruby's cape furled and whipped as she charged into the group, followed immediately by the group of foot soldiers. Arrows zinged and whistled by his head as he followed her.

Belle grunted at the first clash of her sword against another. She blocked high, spun on the ball of her foot, bring the very sharp blade of her other sword across the man's gut. Blood sprayed, the scent of tangy iron filling her nose. She immediately moved to the next sword, not bothering to check for signs of life from the life she'd just cut down. The time to mourn her actions came when Storybrooke was safe. She blocked and attacked as fast as the swords moved towards her, taking down each one with cold exacting patience and precision.

"Belle!" A frightened voice called to her, and she kicked a woman in the gut as she whirled. The woman fell back, still living and dangerous, but Belle abandoned the easy prey and slashed at necks and backs as she sprinted towards the edge of the battle.

A fairy lay on her side, holding her stomach with one hand and trying desperately to pull herself away with the other. She jerked to a stop, grabbed one of the sharp stars at her waist and loosed it towards the man standing over the injured woman. Lucy was her name, Belle reminded herself as the star stuck into the man's neck. Lucy grabbed the dagger from his belt and plunged it into his stomach. She was fine.

A sharp pain in her forearm rattled one of her swords loose from her grip. She blocked the next swipe of the sword as she spun, cape billowing like a red flag of fury. The woman she allowed to live had come for her. She sneered, set her stance and blocked swipe and parry as they came. The woman was skilled with a sword. They brought better and better warriors each time after discovering she disabled their guns with magic to even the playing field.

A whistling sound flew by her ear. A spray of blood and chunks of skull accompanied the sickening thump as one of her snipers effectively ended the fight. She grabbed her sword from the floor and moved on to the next threat. A stabbing burn in her thigh tripped her and she skidded across the floor on her chest with the momentum of her sprint and the force of the wound. Blue eyes sought out the culprit and found an arrow sticking out of her leg. She cut the shaft with one swipe of her sword and pulled herself to her feet and out of the pool of warm, slick blood spreading over the concrete from the woman's gun shot wound. It covered the front of her shirt, and she jerked Ruby's cape away from it before more than the edges were stained with the crimson liquid.

She screamed in frustration and blocked a sword. More and more, she became injured. They'd singled her out as the leader, the top fighter. They targeted her, knowing the rest would have fallen into submission out of fear without the sheer strength of her will. She blocked, parried, winced at the weight on her injured leg. Over and over, swords clashed and foes fell beneath her blade. She spun in a circle, fighting through the pain and caught a man's throat with the tip of her second sword as she knocked his off kilter with the first. His big, terrified eyes met hers. He fell. She whirled, looking for the next threat. It never came.

The ground was covered in blood, chunks of flesh and intestines, broken or discarded weapons. The battle had ended. Her chest heaved and the swords remained at the ready in front of her body as she slowly assessed the loss of life before her. A few of her own lay amongst the dead. Her eyes slipped shut, and a haunted but triumphant cry tore from her throat as she raised face and her swords towards the ceiling. The rest of her army joined in, creating a cacophony of pain and victory.

"Henry!" She called when it ended, and the boy peaked over the rail on the top platform.

"We're okay, Aunt Belle," he called down and then disappeared. Her shoulders drooped in relief. She allowed herself to feel it for exactly one second before she motivated her troops into actions.

"Medics! Astrid, call Zambrano and tell her about the wounds of the seriously injured! You know the drill, people! Get to it!" A flurry of motion filled the room as each person hopped to their assigned task. Some treated the wounded, and others dragged corpses towards the door.

"I'll drive out and escort her in. Grumpy, get some extra crew together and get these bodies out of here. I want this place clean by the time I get back. Henry!" She called, and the boy dropped off the ladder but stopped short of touching her blood soaked front.

"Charming, you're in charge. Find out who the hell tripped my barrier spell by leaving without checking with me so I could reset it!" She bowed her head for a few seconds and then snapped her fingers in sync with a mumbled incantation.

The blood disappeared from her clothes but remained spattered across her face, a testament and badge of her position. She sheathed a sword, and Henry ducked beneath her arm, offering her support on her wounded leg. She'd already been limping. Now it was ten times worst.

"Seal these doors behind me. This was a full scale attack. We'll not see more action tonight, not while they lick their wounds!" She brandished her sword above her head as she rallied morale. Crimson drops of life dripped from the blade, and her people roared in triumph once more.

By the time they reached the Mercedes just outside the door, her hands shook from spent adrenaline. She and Henry dropped to their bellies on either side and checked for wires or any type of explosive or tracking devices. Seeing none, they nodded to each other under the car and then repeated the process with the seats and dashes. She popped the trunk and hood, and they each moved silently to opposite ends of the car. She shut the hood after finding nothing and nodded to the boy when he glanced at the passenger door and then at her. They were safe for now.

"Put your seatbelt on," she ordered as she spun gravel up.

"Yes, Aunt Belle," he obeyed easily. He realized when the war started that Belle protected him at all cost, whether that meant forcing him to wear his seatbelt or taking a shard of broken wood to her face when she stepped between him and one of Pan's minions trying to stab him with the improvised stake. That was the first day he'd watched her take a life. She never scared him, though. She was his protector, his very own personal superhero who lived and breathed to keep him safe.

"Do you want to listen to music?" She asked, a hardened edge still in her voice despite her best efforts to lighten it. She'd just killed more than a few people that she knew of, not including any she may have fatally injured while slashing her way through the crowd to save that fairy, and lost at least three, maybe more if their wounds were too severe.

"Can we listen to that old country station you like?" He asked hesitantly. She always brooded after a battle, and more often than not, the gentler music reminded her of Ruby and made her cry.

"Sure," she said, surprising both of them. One side of her mouth quirked upwards as she glanced between him as he adjusted the station and the road. It slid away when she clamped down on her emotions, resetting her connection with the earth in order to maintain the main barrier spell around Storybrooke. She gripped the wheel in relief when the spell no longer pulled at her own life force. They had maybe a week before it drained her completely. They needed an offensive plan.

The second they arrived with Eva, she shouted for the doors to open and kept a vigilant watch for another ambush as the doctor practically sprinted inside with Captain. The warrior turned nurse turned deputy had been the doctor's constant escort and companion since the attacks began. Without them, they'd have lost many more than they already had. Henry entered next, and she struggled with the giant sliding metal door. It surged forward suddenly as another's strength joined hers, and she glanced up into the sad eyes of Prince Charming.

"You're hurt. Sit down." He ordered, and she nodded, not steeled enough to fight the command from her self-appointed right hand. He led her to a wooden crate they'd repurposed as a chair and lowered her onto it. She watched him work on her forearm for a moment and then took a steadying breath.

"I can't hold the barrier spell much longer, David. We need a plan. We need to lower it and attack first when they aren't expecting it. Ideas?" She spoke without raising her eyes from the wound on her arm weeping blood. Henry joined her on the crate, and she immediately accepted the boy's weight against her side.

"I put your kettle on, Aunt Belle," he said in a tone that said more to the woman than David understood. A sharp sting pulled across the gash on her arm, and she winced, squeezing Henry tighter.

"Thank you, Sweetheart," she whispered with a tight throat and kissed the crown of his head. As her adrenaline completely left her, the pain surfaced, and she swallowed every few seconds to keep the bile pushed down.

"What if one or two of us go to the roads where they're waiting and lure them to the center of town. We could set up archers and snipers on practically every building on the main stretch of street. Pick them off as they come through, and then meet them head on in the square." Charming distracted her from his work and dug the tip of her dagger into her leg, prying lose the arrow head stuck there.

"We'd be trapped in the center with no way out," she pointed out the flaw in his plan and gripped Henry's shoulder painfully. The pain worsened every second, and she almost called for Eva and some local anesthetic. Blue eyes scoured the warehouse, finding the doctor frantically patching Lucy, and clamped down on her pain. It wouldn't have killed her, but distracting Eva right now might have killed Lucy.

"Not if you're there waiting for them. Without the barrier spell sapping your power and focus, could you conjure enough magic in the five minutes it took for us to get from the line to town?" He wasn't keen on relying solely on magic to win battles, but this was a completely different world.

"If I rest properly for the next few hours, it's possible. I know I can summon enough to at least blow some stuff up or send out a wave of fire," she said honestly.

"If you get us that far, take out their guns, we'll take care of the rest, Belle. You've brought them this far, let me take them the rest of the way," he said gently. Their eyes locked, and an understanding passed between them. He wanted to save her soul from the darkness she embraced in order to save their town.

"It's worth a shot. Without Regina here, I'm the best we have. She's much stronger, but I'll give it my best shot, David. Brief the troops and Captain. She's been building a militia on non-magicals in secret. Even if they're not, they have to be ready now." She clipped and accepted the responsibility of their lives on top of the others.

"Hook tripped the barrier," he changed the subject. Anger flared in her eyes and then dissipated. "I found him out back passed out drunk. He must not have realized he'd cross the boundary."

"I'm going to slit his throat. I lost people because of him!" Belle yelled and then winced.

"Aunt Belle, reconnect," Henry encouraged the angry woman and ran his tiny hand over her hair, soothing her rage. After a few minutes, her body collapsed, slouching forward as she neutralized her emotions and pulled the energy all around her into her chi, replenishing the little bit of her own life force that she could.

Charming watched the interaction with curious and grief-filled eyes. The boy had grown up. Regina and Emma had given him a second chance at a childhood when they moved him to Boston and away from all of this. There was no coming back from what he'd seen, not anymore. He gritted his teeth and plucked the arrowhead from the toned thigh in front of him.

A grumbling, growling hum vibrated Belle's throat and her hands jerked, but she endured the pain gracefully. It was nothing compared to the guilt of losing more to this senseless battle. Grief flared in her chest, and she released it into the universe with a deep, steadying breath.

She hugged the boy, trusted the prince, and prayed for the strength required to survive their insane plan.


	29. Fuck This Place

My Doves! Thank you for all the reviews and follows! I'm excited for this part of the story. I've gone through this scenario a hundred times. This is the result. Also, I've been aching to use this song for Regina. The time has come!

Enjoy Lovelies! Let me know what you think!

Songs: Let Us Burn by Within Temptation (Emma), Bad Reputation by Joan Jett (Regina and Ruby)

* * *

Emma and Regina crouched by a boulder and look over the encampment where the locator spell led them. Their palms slid against the sweat created between them, but neither woman found the constitution to release the other. Regina needed Emma's magical juice, and Emma needed Regina's touch. There were far more Lost Boys than they ever could have anticipated, and after several centuries of collecting unsuspecting souls for his army, there ought to have been more.

A small pile of corpses were stacked near the edge of the camp, and a sick sort of satisfaction spread within the two women. Ruby hadn't lost her fight, even if she was clearly drugged. The wolf stood chained at the center of the camp. Her arms and legs were stretched spread eagle and attached to two wooden posts. Her chest heaved with rage, and Regina breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Even more shocking than the corpses and the humiliating display of their friend, Rumeplstiltskin hung similarly to the wolf along side a younger woman with dirty blonde hair. Regina reacted visibly when her eyes landed on the young woman. Emma squeezed her hand. The stories had to wait until they rescued Ruby.

"She's drugged. See how her head is lulling back and forth and the slight twitch in her muscles. That's what I did when they gave me that stuff. Also, watch out for Rumpel. I sort of bashed his head in when I escaped, like way more than necessary. He is not going to be happy to see me," Emma whispered.

Ruby's head jerked, eyes searching. She heard them from this distance?

"Wolf Pup?" Ruby's mouth fell open, and her chest heaved with the emotion. Regina leaned intuitively into Emma, seeking comfort in her relief and fear. Emma studied her profile for a moment. She was truly coming home. A smiled tugged at her lips, and green eyes refocused on the imprisoned werewolf.

"We're coming for you. Sit tight," Emma said. Ruby nodded. "Pretend that you're still under the drug too far to move. You can break those chains at full strength, right?" Ruby nodded and then dropped her chin back to her chest.

"We wouldn't leave you, Ruby," Regina whispered, emotion thick in her voice. The wolf truly was an incredible specimen here, the perfect being.

"Okay, the stuff wears off pretty quickly, especially with Ruby's wolf. It should only be a few minutes. We'll wait until they go to drug her again and then go. It should only be a couple of minutes," she repeated. Her nerves jumped into her throat.

"Could you maybe conjure me a sword or a gun or something," Emma said with a shaky voice. Regina met her gaze and then snapped her fingers. Emma squeaked when shackles appeared around the wrist of the hand holding Regina's. The other end rested against Regina's wrist, a thick chain linking them together.

"What. The. Actual hell?" She glared at Regina who smirked in response.

"Emma, I'm not strong enough to beat Pan's magic, not here anyway. I can't make another antidote if you get hit with dream shade. Our only hope is to stay linked and rely on magic. With your strength and my skill, we're unstoppable, Emma." Regina explained breathlessly. She got off on their combined magic. Emma blinked rapidly and tucked the knowledge away.

"Okay. So, we magic flash into the camp? Keep them away from Rubes long enough for her to break free. Grab her and magic flash away?" It was too simple. Wasn't it?

"I've nothing better to offer," Regina admitted and then took a deep breath.

"Regina," Emma caught her attention gently. "We'll make it. We always do." She used her unbound hand to tuck hair behind the older woman's ear.

"No, we don't," she said sadly, eyes turned towards the camp. "Surely you haven't forgotten what we lost the last time." Emma dropped her eyes and clenched her jaw as the meaning of the words washed over her. They might have to sing a hundred songs and have sex a hundred times before Regina believed again.

"Regina," she said and raised her eyes. "Look at me," she ordered. Regina swallowed and complied after a long pause.

"We'll make it. We always do," Emma repeated without a trace of doubt. The truest believer. Regina almost smiled.

Her heart tugged when Emma pressed their lips together. It wasn't hollow, but it wasn't full, either. It was comfortable, familiar. Soft hands slid into golden locks, rattling the shackle chain. Lips brushed and nipped and slid and stilled naturally as the two women came to a silent agreement that the time had come to move forward with their shaky rescue plan.

"Emma, I…" Regina clutched her chest and stared at her with wide, terrified eyes. She was afraid to love, afraid to lose something so precious again. She'd not have survived a third time.

"I know, Baby," she soothed the distraught woman and bumped their foreheads together.

"I've got you, and I'll never let you go. I don't care how long it takes. I love you, Regina." She pulled their linked hands to her chest and held Regina's trembling hand over her heart.

"It's yours." Her voice told Regina that this wasn't simply words being spoken. These were promises made, commandments written in stone, never to be broken or erased. Regina's hand sunk beneath the skin and grasped the energetic organ. Emma's eyes slipped shut, and she believed. Regina's followed as pure love flowed into her fingertips.

"It's yours. When you're ready, it's yours, Regina," she repeated. Small gasps puffed from her lips. "I believe."

Regina pulled back suddenly when fear gripped her own heart. She wasn't ready. She was terrified. Emma's eyes opened slowly, disappointed but understanding. Gazes locked. They surged forward as one.

"Get ready, Rubes!" Emma said in an excited whisper, and then held her breath as her physical form flew apart.

They came back together in the center of the camp, slapped their hands together, and waited for all hell to break loose. Pan ran from a hut with Felix on his heels. Regina tugged on their combined power and flung it towards the demon boy. Arrows and daggers bounced away from them when a shield of violet and shimmering blue encased them. Emma breathed through the bizarre and incredibly arousing sensation of having her chi sucked through her by another person.

Ruby rattled her chains. Regina waved her hand, and the wolf fell to the ground in a heap. She was weak and trembling from the sedative but recovering at a fast pace. Rage simmered in her eyes and her chest heaved when she finally looked into the faces of her two saviors. She coughed, rubbed her shoulders with the opposite hands and stood.

"Will you two just fucking believe in each other already? I am so sick of fucking wolf hearing," she groused and stretched out her sore muscles. The barrier shimmered as more arrows and rocks bounced off it but held strong.

"Goddamn it, Regina. Just…" she waved her arms frantically in frustration. "Just take her fucking heart! Okay, just fucking do it! I am so sick of you people constantly fighting what you know to be inevitable. Jesus! I mean seriously?" Her hands slapped against her cock hips, and she glared at her friends.

"I knew the moment I saw Belle. It took you two idiots almost a fucking year to realize that all those angry stares and word battles were actually your way of making love to each other because you were too chicken shit to admit how you really felt. Give me a damn break!" She threw her hands into the air and then turned on the ball of her foot and smacked the palm of her hand against one of the posts she'd been chained to.

It cracked and toppled over. She sneered, lip curled in an expression of vicious intentions and glanced back at her two friends. Emma and Regina jumped at the sudden display of strength and violence. Their hands tightened.

"Can we end this now? I know a boy or two who needs an ass-whoopin' and I'm just the person to supply that demand," the wolf snarled.

"Ruby, we should just poof out of here and regroup," Emma countered but stopped when Ruby pulled herself to her full height and squared her shoulders. Regina gasped as the wolf's rage tickled at her own.

"Lower the barrier, My Queen," she ordered darkly, and Regina nodded with a snarl of her own.

Emma stared between the two as the unspoken connection they'd always shared snapped tight around them. They intended to bring Neverland to its knees, and she was chained to one half of a murderous duet, literally. A surge of power buckled her knees, and the barrier came down in a flash of their combined energy. Emma cried out in pain as sheer electricity tore through her veins.

Regina unleashed her fury, and the large group of at least fifty bodies that had gathered around the protection barrier flew back. Fire laced with sparkling blue exploded into those still on their feet. Strangled cries and squalls of pain filled the air as Ruby set her claws to their task at their back. The rage and vengeance surrounded them, and Emma watched helplessly as the two other women sank further into the darkness that constantly nagged at their hearts.

She wanted to tell them to stop, to cry out in some way, but the thousands of tiny needles pricking her from the inside out prevented any words. Charred flesh filled her nostrils, and she choked on it. A ring of fire appeared above them, lighting the camp in the darkness. It grew in size and then pulsed like a starburst, setting the jungle around them aflame. The entire scene felt like a dream.

She jerked at her hand, but Regina's grip combined with the shackle's short chain prevented her from breaking free. Fear squeezed her heart and bile rose in her throat as body after body of boys around Henry's age fell to the ground without breath. A pulse of foreign magic hit her chest, and she and Regina flew in different directions.

She grunted, gasped, stumbled to her feet. Regina met her eyes across the camp. Pan had obviously caught them off guard and separated their magic. Emma snatched up a club and fought towards Regina. She vaguely registered Ruby at Regina's side and then blocked an attack from a larger boy. The club was far heavier than what she was used to, and it took several missed openings before it collided with the boys skull.

Fireballs cleared a small path, and she searched for the two figures she so desperately fought for. They were safe, back to back. Ruby snagged arrows from the air before they poisoned Regina, using her whole body and bodies of Pan's soldiers when her hands weren't fast enough. She lost sight of them as a swell of screaming boys rushed at her as one mechanized unit. She focused her attention and defended herself. She'd never make it to them unscathed.

"Emma!" Regina yelled to her, having also lost sight and flung more fire into the crowd surrounding her lover. Ruby stumbled into her back. She'd taken another arrow for her.

A piercing howl echoed into the night. Something was wrong. Ruby leaned against her more heavily. Emma caught a brief glimpse as Regina lowered Ruby to the ground and threw up a protective shield. How had they dropped a practically invincible werewolf hyped up on adrenaline and rage?

"Emma!" Regina called again. "The arrows had the sedative on it!" Regina explained. She was on her own until Ruby recovered. At least the wall of bodies protected her from the sharp projectiles.

She swung the club upwards and caught a boy under the chin. He flew back into the group behind him, giving her a moment of reprieve to reset her stance and gather her strength.

"Emma!" Regina screamed again. Rage filled her soul. How dare these little monsters do this to her? For what? For power? For immortality? Did they not understand that they only wanted to live out their lives in peace? In love and together.

The swell of bodies pressed back, the battle coming to a complete stand still. A bright blue haze swirled around body. It started at her heart and spread in all directions. Her love for Regina. Her love for Henry and the unborn child within Regina. Her love for Ruby and Belle and her parents and Granny and Storybrooke filled her up until there was no other option but to spill over and flood the air around her.

Rage and love. The combination swirled into an inextricable helix in her soul and lashed out at the threat attempting to steal her family. The club thumped to the ground as her hands raised as far as her shoulders. She stared at the glow and then raised her gaze to the attackers blindly following Pan's orders. Some of them ran when they saw the ethereal blue sparkle of magic where sea green had been only moments ago.

"Stop her!" Pan ordered and flung a pulse of magic at her.

She raised her hand instinctively and scooped the magic from the air. She stared at it a moment, watching each tiny molecule of energy swirl and collide, searching for a path to freedom from her grasp.

"No power in this world or any other can stop me," she said and met Pan's eyes. More than a threat, the belief washed over him, instilling enough fear that he faltered in the air.

"Emma, Ruby's up! Come to us!" Regina called across the camp. Violet exploded in the air, followed by Ruby's angered howl.

Emma tossed Pan's magic at him and then swung her fists into two chests, grinning when her magically amped strength simulated the wolf strength she thought about. Her brain latched onto the thought and willed it into reality. She ignored their faces as body after body crumpled beneath her hands.

Love and fury. Light and dark. Savior and destroyer. Emma and Regina. She was both, and she was unstoppable.

Realizing that the assault on the glowing woman was pointless, the boys refocused their attentions on Ruby and Regina. Emma loosed a war cry and sprinted across the camp. Arrows and stones flew by her or bounced off her personal shield of magic. As she neared the other women, her hand sunk into her chest. Pan cried out in frustration as he realized what was about to happen.

Her heart pulled from her chest in a brilliant swirl of gold and blue energy. The heart of the truest believer, something he'd desperately sought for nearly a century. She covered Regina's lower stomach with a protective hand as she collided bodily with her soul mate from behind. Their child moved within her. Their Annabel. Regina gasped, and Ruby whipped around, hand finding her arm at the exact moment Emma inserted the heart into the dark witch's chest.

The world clapped and boomed. A stream of brilliant blue, hazy violet and angry maroon of the wolf shot straight into the air. Emma had tapped all three sources of magic as they connected physically. The air shimmered and exploded with energy.

"Fuck this place! Let's go home!" Emma yelled and wished it so.

The walls of reality flickered, melted, flashed. A swirl of yellow energy circled the stream of blue, violet and red. An explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet.

Pan screamed.

The magic spread across the sky, encompassing all of Neverland.

Regina grabbed her chest.

The swirl of colors descended towards the earth.

Emma whispered her love into Regina's ear.

A haze of magic pushed against them as though The Dark Curse had been cast all over again, except it felt warm. Emma Swan infiltrated their hearts, soothing their pain, restoring their faith in love. A pulse tore through them, pulling at their physical beings as though they teleported with Regina's magic. And then it was over.

Ruby simply blinked and then fell back when the wind and swirling energy stopped and she lost her wolf's grip on Regina and Emma's arms. The two women stood perfectly still and panted, one unit, one force, one soul. Light beat down from above. Ruby squinted into the shockingly warm ray of the sun that she'd not seen since going to Neverland. A figure appeared above her, a silhouette at first and then a blur and then…

"Belle?"


	30. Buffy & Co

Doves! Thanks for my reviews! There will be 1-3 more chapters and an epilogue. Unfortunately, I won't be posting anymore for at least the next 24 hours, but I wanted to give you this. My brother and his wife are having their baby shower today, and I have to get my mom's wood shed filled up. Alas, the real world is not quite as fun as this, but I shall return quickly and hopefully not disappoint.

That said, of course, I had to give Belle and Emma a go at this song as well! Let me know what you think!

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Bad Reputation by Joan Jett, All I Wanna do is Make Love to You by Halestorm

* * *

Belle knelt in the middle of the square and waited. She wrapped herself in Ruby's cloak, allowing a few minutes to simply miss the love of her life before running straight into a battle that probably decided her life or death this day. She closed her eyes and tilted her face into the warmth of the early morning sun. Her cell phone lay a few feet in front of her on the pavement, and gentle murmurings filtered through every few seconds. Apparently, one could do what was a three-way call because clearly talking to one person at a time was not enough for the people of this world.

_Ridiculous imbeciles. That's why people like me get true love and you don't. I actually pay attention to what's in front of me._ She grumbled silently at the people of Earth as she waited impatiently.

After she overcame her momentary abhorrence for the device's application, David had called both his and Captain's phones for her as she refused to learn how. Everyone else had taken up offensive positions while they waited for David and Captain to reach the town lines. If the people gathered outside the barrier had two brain cells to rub to together, they realized immediately that they lured them into a trap, but hopefully they were too cocky and too afraid of or loyal to Pan to actually care.

Her magical snipers were lined along the streets since their positions were more difficult to detect than archers. The archers were positioned at her back in Town Hall and across the street. Captain's militia of non-magicals were spread out in the buildings surrounding the square. Half of them were soldiers from Regina's army, a fact Captain divulged when she asked about their readiness. A few of them opted to fight upon horseback and waited behind Town Hall, ready to defend their seemingly fearless and self-sacrificial leader waiting alone in town square.

Aside from curious or nervous eyes peaking from a window ever now and then, she remained completely isolated in the middle of the square. It stayed that way until she was surrounded and had completed the massive spell she attempted to summon. She ignored the searching gazes and gave herself over to the pull of the earth's energy. Her eyes slipped shut at the awe-inspiring power as it hummed beneath her skin. God she loved using magic.

"Captain, Belle, ready when you are," David's confident voice came over the speaker, startling her from the thought. She refocused, dropped her emotions and waited for Captain's affirmation.

"In place, Commander," Captain clipped. Belle steadied her breathing.

"Bringing down the barrier in, three, two, one," she said and spoke the reverse incantation that she'd practiced needlessly to perfection since waking. Her big brain rarely forgot something after she read it.

Clashing metal and yelling filtered into the phone. She shut it off and shove it into her tight, supportive sports bras. Yes, it took more than one in order for her to fight comfortably. She pulled on the energy around her, blocking out everything else. Sweat tickled her lower back. Her breath sounded loud in her ears. Her arms shook with the effort of maintaining the massive amount of energy she pulled from the earth. It was much more than she'd used since the rockslide, and if luck saw fit to bless them, this killed more than a few when she loosed it upon them.

She reached her limit, hissed through her teeth against the pain of the energy coursing through her body, relaxed. The tiny shocks receded as her mind acclimated to the new magic flow. She spindled more into the ball between her hands after a moment. Two cars flew past her and screeched to a stop on either side of the square. Several others followed. Gun shots zinged past her. She waited. Cement flew into her face from a bullet hitting it a foot in front of her. She met the man's eyes in the backseat of the car in time to watch his head explode from one of her sniper's. One more minute. More cars and trucks with beds full of soldiers stopped, shot and were shot at.

Belle loosed the spell. Yellow haze swirled around the square, circling in the air in a violent whirlpool as she focused the energy. She muttered the incantation. Fire and fury flew into the swarm of people exiting vehicles, weapons dropped, people jerked and spasmed as they burned from the inside out. Belle lost her focus when a beam of neon blue, smoky purple and deep red tore into the sky from the square.

The ground shook beneath her feet. Reality flicked from day to night and back to day, Storybrooke and a jungle of flames, cement to dirt. A loud clap of pulsing energy knocked her on her back. She jumped to her feet and found her swords. More people appeared in front of her as two differing worlds collided and combined into one. A familiar figure lay at her feet as the smoke of magic cleared and the sounds of battle rose.

"Belle?" Ruby asked, confused as fuck about what just occurred. She still lay on soft dirt, still smelled the smoke from Regina's fire, but Storybrooke surrounded her, zapping her super wolf strength. Belle stood above her head.

"Wolf," Belle breathed and grabbed the front of Ruby's shirt, jerking her to her feet.

"Archers!" Belle yelled without taking her eyes from Ruby. They simply stared at each other, taking in the differences. The scars, the clothes, the attitudes. Their gazes fell over the other's shoulder, and they parted in unspoken agrrement, each taking on an opponent at her lover's back.

Emma released her hold on Regina's waist and grabbed a sword from the ground. She blocked a blade coming at Regina's shoulder a moment before it made contact and surged forward, making one clean slice across the man's gut as she spun. She never looked back as he fell to the ground.

"Emma, your heart," Regina said and sunk her hand into her chest.

"Keep it. You're stronger with my magic, and you can actually use it," Emma said hurriedly, wrapped one hand around her lover's neck and pulled their lips together in a heated kiss. They parted. Emma touched her stomach and then loosed a war cry as she sprinted to Belle.

She used her body as a wrecking ball and flung herself into the group, giving Belle enough breathing room to take out the remaining two as the others scrambled for footing. Their shoulders slammed together as they reset their stance back to back. A million questions and comments floated through her mind at the librarian turned warrior. She settled for levity in light of their current deadly situation.

"Glad to see you found your badass," Emma shouted. Block. Parry. Slice. Damn, she missed her gun.

"Always been there, Savior," Belle answered and felled her attacker as she spun to face Emma. "You just never looked hard enough," she accused lightheartedly, and cocked her head once with so much sass that Emma nearly fell over from shock.

"Behind you!" Belle and Emma yelled at the same time and brushed past each other in defense of their friend.

"Where are my bloody archers!" Belle screamed above the cacophony of clanging metal. On cue, a wooden shaft sank into the chest of the man she currently fought with a solid thud.

Ruby howled and snapped another neck. Purple and blue sparks of magic flew around her, taking down arrows and foes alike, and she slowly fought her way towards Regina. The witch stood untouched by arrow and hand in the glow of a shimmering blue force field. Emma's heart valiantly protected that which she most believed in, despite not physically touching her. It was beautiful.

Emma and Belle also backed towards the glowing sorceress, surrounding her at three points. Ruby to her right, Emma to her left and Belle at her back. They glanced around the crowd closing in on them and then at each other. They were invincible. Belle flung stars and daggers into necks and chests, taking down a few. Ruby finally found a sword. Regina pulsed fatal amounts of energy into group. She found it difficult to use magic for this battle as there were so many of theirs mixed in with the enemy.

Still, fire and energy balls seared and flew. Arrows and bullets zinged, protecting from afar. She met Emma's eyes, touched her shoulder, felt the heady and unstoppable combination of love and rage emanating from their shared hearts. She snapped. She was tired and hungry and horny and apparently pregnant. She wanted her son and a bath and a book and a fuck with the woman currently moving beneath her chest and not necessarily in that order. She considered even having a good cry, which probably would have come after the fuck.

"Enough of this!" She raised her hands in the air, trusted Emma's heart and sent a massive swirling blue and purple pulse from her chest, and then followed it with outstretched arms. Everyone froze, immobilized except the four women in the center of the fray.

Fairies and princes and lost boys and strange invaders of Storybrooke and friends all froze. Swords stopped mid-strike. Arrows hung in the air. The world went silent. Regina closed her eyes and focused as the three warriors surrounding her caught their breath and soaked up the eerie quiet of the moment.

"Release them," she urged Emma's heart and wished it so, just as Emma might have. The citizens of Storybrooke fell forward

"Well, aren't you the Deus Ex Machina of the modern world," Belle quipped and watched Lost boys and other members of Pan's army taken prisoner in their incapacitated states.

"How wonderful to be recognized as the goddess that I am, Miss French." Regina shrugged with a saucy smirk and met Emma's gaze. Both of them heaved under the emotional weight of everything that had happened from the mass immobilization all the way to Emma's kidnapping and her loss of love. Emma refrained from touching the other woman, however, scared to distract her from holding the enchantment that brought a massive and bloody final battle to a standstill.

"Belle," Ruby breathed and spun towards her girlfriend, dropping the sword to the ground in preparation of better things in her hands.

A solid fist collided with her jaw and a warm hand wrapped around the back of her neck at the same time. She stumbled back from the blow and the sudden weight upon her hips, confused as hell by the dueling emotions and reactions to her presence. Blood exploded in her mouth and hot, demanding lips fell upon hers. Hands slid beneath Belle's leather-clad thighs instinctively, taking the pressure from her lower back where Belle's boots hooked together at the ankle. Belle pulled back enough to meet her eyes.

"If you ever leave me again, I'll make a damn coat out of your fur," Belle threatened. The hardened clip in her voice told everyone within ear shot that she might have actually meant the words.

Ruby sputtered. Lips crashed. The kissed heated. Soft sighs of pleasure and rumbling moans filled the air. Belle's hips rolled against Ruby's stomach. Emma and Regina smirked at each other, unsure if they should stop it before the two lovers either embarrassed themselves or gave Storybrooke a show to remember. They settled on averting their eyes and turning their backs, hopefully setting an example for the others gawking at the passionate reunion.

"Belle," Ruby panted when the kiss ended, and the woman mounting her bumped their foreheads together.

"Ruby," Belle returned as breathlessly, an emotional crack in her voice. Brown and blue locked, shimmered, released tears onto flushed cheeks. Some were happy, some were tortured, some were relieved, but they all mixed together on their faces as their bodies acclimated to the reality of touching what they'd longed for every night since parting.

"Your face," Ruby said absently and readjusted one arm beneath her lover's butt as the other rose to trace the jagged lines. Belle's gaze dropped sadly, and her heart clenched in the hope that the scar wasn't displeasing to her lover in its ugliness .

"Some prick tried to play Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Henry. I used my face as a shield," she explained as lightly as possible, not willing to relinquish the feel good running through her veins quite yet.

"Your clothes," Ruby sputtered and looked down the now toned body of her once soft and feminine lover.

"I am Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Belle answered self-consciously, the apprehension of Ruby discovering her dark past replacing the happy endorphins beneath her skin.

Ruby met her hardened but pleading eyes, sensing the petite woman's upheaval. Everyone had a past. Her own included more than a few blemishes that made her quiver and hide in shame. Who was she to judge anything Belle had done or hidden from her? In time, Belle told her the truth of everything, and she decided to wait patiently for that day and enjoy the here and now. The past mattered very little in this moment.

"I love you," Ruby whined around her own emotions and tight throat. Belle smiled into an emotional sigh as the quiet acceptance of her lover washed over her.

"I love you, too, Ruby Lucas," she answered, relieved and loved and content for the moment to simply feel the wolf wrapped in her tight embrace.

Lips met again, and no more words were spoken between the two. Belle found her feet and tipped her head up to maintain the kiss. One hand rested on Ruby's collarbone, the other on her hip, and the feminine and vulnerable gestures felt natural to her once more. The connection with the earth she'd held against her heart for weeks slipped away as it swelled with a renewed burn for the woman caressing her scarred face and bruised ribs.

Love quickly filled the void caused by the sudden loss of power. She mourned and yearned for the magic exactly one moment as it called her back to its tantalizing grip. Ruby pulled their bodies flush with a throaty moan that vibrated their joined lips, and Belle gave herself over to the gentler call of a much more powerful magic. She made the mistake of clinging to magic once before, and it nearly destroyed her. Never again, she vowed and lost herself in Ruby's lips and trembling body. They parted when Charming's voice echoed across the square. Belle tucked herself into her wolf's side and laid her head on the strong but battle-weary shoulder.

"We got 'em all, Regina!" He said triumphantly, giving her the freedom to relinquish her hold. He pressed a hand into his bleeding shoulder and nodded to the sorceress. An understanding passed between them as she released her hold on their prisoners or war. It lasted only a moment before her gaze returned to impassioned green eyes.

Emma grinned and displayed a heated passion of her own for the glowing woman carrying her heart. Regina smiled into the brief kiss. It ended all too soon, and brown eyes flew open when strong arms wrapped around her hips and a face pressed into her stomach. No one understood the intense emotion of that submissive and supplicating touch except for the two women involved. Emma cried softly into her belly and whispered inaudibly.

Regina wrapped her arms around blonde hair and quivering shoulders and dropped her lips to the crown of Emma's head as he own tears fell. She felt her. She felt Emma, and she felt the child they'd created by the sheer power of Emma's belief in their love. Emma had been right. They always made it, and now she believed that they always would. Emma had the heart of the truest believer, and she was the savior's lost soul. She thought that fact should have made her sad or self-pitying, but it only filled her with the slow burning desire to be saved over and over again by a certain blonde-haired, bombshell, modern-day warrior with a literal heart of gold.

"I love you, Emma," she whispered into yellow hair. Emma cried harder, followed immediately by Regina.

Happy and anguished sobs and wails surrounded the women. They let go as they clung to each other. They grieved for what they'd lost. They rejoiced for what they'd gained. They cried for the nightmares and emotional backlash they knew lay ahead of them as they dealt with their latest tragic obstacle. They sighed into a love that had been restored, and in that knowledge found the strength to pull away from the emotional and intimate embrace and smile at each other.

Emma found her feet and Regina's hand, unwilling to be completely physically detached from the woman she'd only just reclaimed as her own. Regina took it one step further and pressed into Emma's side and wrapped her arms around the taller woman's waist, tucking her forehead into Emma's neck, almost mimicking the stance of their best friend's behind them.

"Where's Henry?" Regina asked when they faced their friends, anxious to see their son now that the intensity of their victory passed.

"David went to the stronghold to get him and Snow and anyone injured. We had a few warriors stationed there in the event they were attacked. They're going to meet us at the hospital," Belle answered and readjusted her head against Ruby's chest as they moved forward.

Her limp returned full force now that she had no magic or adrenaline covering the pain of the sword gash that hadn't quite healed and the arrow wound Charming doctored the previous night. The three other women stopped as one unit and waited for Ruby to bundle the woman still wearing her red cape in her arms. They shook and quivered, a testament to her own physical strain. Belle wiggled until Ruby had no choice but to release her or drop her. Belle moved behind her and pushed down on her shoulders, and Ruby squatted slightly as she realized what her lover intended.

Properly piggybacked, they moved towards the hospital with the other walking wounded. Belle gently informed them of Granny's cardiac episode and tightened her arms around Ruby's shoulders when the wolf faltered. She pressed kisses to the back of her neck and jaw, comforting her the only way she had access for the moment. Emma squeezed Regina tighter and pressed her lips to her forehead and left them there.

"Where's Hook?" Ruby asked suddenly, just now noticing the man's absence. They had actually bonded while Regina recovered from the head wound Rumpel gave her when he bashed her into a tree. He taught her the basics of how to sail a ship and promised to finish the lesson once the dust cleared.

"I had him arrested," Belle said with an angry bite in her voice. "He did something incredibly moronic that put people at risk, and I lost four souls due to his ignorant irresponsibility. I'll have Captain release him eventually, but I no longer trusted him." Belle explained, and the other three glanced between each other.

Belle took charge in their absence? Even more shockingly, Belle took charge and people followed her without question? They all knew there had been more than the innocent bookworm inside the reserved, tiny woman, but now they realized they were about to find out exactly how much she'd hidden in her books and timid personality. The rest of the walk passed in silence as they retreated into their own minds in order to deal with the reality crashing into them as the shock, relief, and adrenaline wore off.

Like the last time they ended an upheaval in the hospital, it wasn't quite a happy ending given the destruction and death that had befallen their sleepy little hamlet, but they were alive and in love and together as friends and sisters and lovers. As Granny smiled up at the blood-soaked warriors that constructed her entire family and Henry crashed into his mothers, they knew that just like last time, they had the strength to recover from this given time and support and their unwavering belief in one another.

As long as they stayed together, nothing matched their combined devotion and love. Nothing stood a chance against the four heroines of Storybrooke.

Nothing except perhaps The Dark Curse.


	31. The Call

Holy crap, I came back to the Internet world and was completely overwhelmed by the amazing reviews of the last chapter! (Yes! Belle for Mayor, Dear Guest! Dark Belle has become my favorite character to write during this journey. LOL)

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: The Call by Celtic Woman (Regina and Belle), Iris by Goo Goo Dolls (Emma... I've waited so very long, even before I started this story series to use this song for a scene similar to the last one in this chapter. WHOO!)

* * *

Emma moved silently through the still mansion. She, Regina and Henry took over their old living space as Belle and Ruby opted for staying at the library. They'd spent several hours at the hospital after the battle visiting Granny and getting treatment of their own, and the two reunited lovers had practically squirmed in their need to be alone. Belle checked out against Zambrano's medical opinion. The doctor simply nodded when Emma and Regina followed suit. They were all dehydrated and weary, and Eva sniped about treating them for exhaustion when they collapsed but begrudgingly released them without further comment.

Finally, after checking the bedroom, Henry's room and Belle's library, she found her on the back deck staring off into the dark yard. Her wet hair made see-thru splotches on the back of the white cotton tank top. She must have borrowed one of Belle's because Ruby's thin frame was way too small for one of her shirts to fit so well, but then Regina had lost all of her tantalizing softness over the past month. The loose shorts were a pair of Emma's that she must have packed when they visited Storybrooke over a month ago. That seemed like an entire lifetime ago. Had it truly been such a short amount of time?

Regina's wrists rested on the railing, spread wide enough for Emma to see her hands. She held an unlit cigarette between two fingers and a lighter in the other. Her back coiled with tension, and the savior wondered what dark thoughts plagued her lover on this mild and perfect night. She slid the door shut with more force than necessary, making a small tapping sound that alerted her lover of her presence. Regina tensed and then relaxed when Emma's heart tugged toward its owner.

"How was your shower?" She asked without looking over her shoulder.

"Best damn shower in my whole damn life. Well, would have been if you were there," Emma whispered suggestively into her ear as she wrapped her arms around the slim waist. Regina accepted the embrace, leaned into it, but kept her hands neutral and unmoving on the railing.

"Henry?" Regina checked the status of her son, knowing Emma probably checked on him before coming downstairs.

"He's out. Poor kid's exhausted. We really need to talk to Belle and find out what we're dealing with. He barely said five sentences tonight," Emma expressed her concerns in between kisses on Regina's tantalizing neck and shoulder. She tried desperately to focus on their son's mental wellbeing, and while they always put the boy first, she'd been denied the simply pleasure of touching Regina for so long that desire overruled logic.

"You should take your heart back," Regina said suddenly in a voice tight with arousal and fear. Emma leaned her head to the side and studied Regina's profile. A terrified expression spread on her features when Emma's overwhelming concern pulled through her own chest.

"I'm afraid that I won't love you anymore if you take it back," Regina explained. Emma tightened her arms and pressed her lips to the muscle between her shoulder and neck.

"Then we put it back in until it puts your heart back together," she said after a long pause to find the right words. "We both know it's what you want, to feel it again, and we both know that it will eventually come back if it hasn't already. There's no need for either of us to suffer anymore than we already have until that happens." Emma said the words as if giving Regina her heart were as normal as allowing Regina to borrow her car.

Regina's head bowed under the gravity of Emma's love. How was such a damaged and abused woman able to love so unconditionally, without fear and doubt and hesitation?

"I can't take it out," Regina said tightly. "I tried while you were in the shower. I just… I wanted to look at it again. I've obviously stopped glowing. I wanted to see if your heart had as well." Regina explained. Emma's heart blatantly refused to heed her commands and gentle tugs. Where Emma put her heart is where Emma's heart stayed.

Emma splayed one hand over her stomach, her new favorite place to touch, and pressed the other into Regina's chest. The magical organ pulled free, and Regina gasped, chest heaving as the heady pulse of Emma disappeared. Her heart shone a brilliant gold, but the bright blue of magic lay dormant inside now that it had served its purpose. Regina braced herself on the rail, waiting for the empty chasm of heartbreak. It never came. She loved Emma.

"Babe?" Emma whispered, almost as scared as she had been. She almost returned her heart to Regina's chest when the soft sigh of tears surrounded them.

"I love you, Emma Swan," Regina stated confidently despite the softness in her deep breathy voice. Emma's forehead dropped to Regina's shoulder in relief. She left it there and returned the incredibly powerful organ to her own chest. A jolt zapped her system and then settled as the flood of warmth and compassion she usually felt flowed beneath her skin once more. Heart magic was weird, she decided and raised her head.

"I love you, too, Baby." Emma nuzzled her face into the damp hair at the back of Regina's neck. They'd done it. Nothing was impossible when they faced it together.

"So much," she added as her emotions overwhelmed her. They were here. They were in love. They'd won again, just as the prophesy foretold. The silence stretched into the night, and they allowed their love to insulate them from the rest of the world.

"I have to quit smoking," Regina said when she recovered and felt compelled to break the silence.

"As sexy as I imagine you to be with that lit and a glass of whiskey in your hand, I'm going to have to agree with that," Emma stated her position on the subject and plucked the cigarette from her fingers and tossed it into the backyard. Her statement made, she returned her hand to Regina's stomach.

The lighter clattered to the deck as Regina turned in the tight embrace and wrapped her arms around Emma's neck. She'd given her a child. She'd given her a life. She'd given her a love so strong that everything she'd gone through before Emma Swan suddenly became a badge of pride and honor. Someone like Emma deserved someone who appreciated what she offered. Regina would never have been able to do that had she not suffered so much and so long and so deeply. Life tested her, prepared her, and then it gave her Emma when she emerged on the other side of the flames a broken survivor.

Lips moved together, falling easily into the familiar dance. It was slow and reverent, harmonized by gentle caresses and quiet sighs. They might have made love later, but right now, this was enough. The call to love stifled their physical needs as they simply felt each other beneath their hands and lips.

They parted reluctantly when the door bell jingled through the house. Emma growled and dropped her head to Regina's shoulder. Ruby and Belle would have simply used a key, not that they expected to see either woman surface for air for at least three days. Regina smiled at lover's frustration and scratched fingernails into her wet scalp.

"It's probably important if they've risked bothering either us or Ruby and Belle at this hour, especially after today," Regina pointed out. Emma nodded without raising her head. They remained glued to their embrace, however, until the chimes played again.

Regina gripped her lover's hand and followed Emma to the front door. They expected Charming or Snow or even Zambrano come to check on them or deliver news of some huge crisis. What they had not anticipated was a very exhausted and frustrated Mother Superior holding a squirming, squalling, fussy toddler in her arms. The two women stared, too shocked to say anything.

"I need Belle," she said without greeting, her eyes the epitome of deathly serious.

"She's not here. She and Ruby are at the library apartment. What's wrong?" Emma released Regina and guided the distraught fairy turned nun into the house and shut the door.

"Alexandra, please stop," Blue said, clearly trying to reign in her frustration with the child as she wiggled, nearly breaking free.

"Belle!" The little girl demanded in a tantrum-like voice and then dropped her head to Blue's shoulder as exhausted tears overcame her anger.

"Belle read to the children before they went to sleep. It soothed them, I suppose, to have their hero acknowledge them in such a way. The rest of the children who lost their parents have accepted me as sufficient replacement tonight, except Alex. She absolutely refuses, well, everything," Mother Superior huffed. She wasn't a particularly patient woman to begin with, and the child's valiant struggle against sleep frayed the little nerves she'd maintained during the battle for Storybrooke over the past month.

The girl was the youngest orphan and only understood that when her parents disappeared, Belle cared for her, made her feel safe and secure. It wasn't her fault, but there was only so much a woman withstood before cracking, and she was one step from leaving the squalling toddler in a room by herself to let her cry it out and fall asleep when she had no strength left to fight.

"Here," Regina said and reached for the girl. Blue surrendered her immediately and then stretched and rubbed her aching arms. Emma and Regina locked gazes, understanding in their eyes. The war was far from over. They'd lost so much. Regina moved to the living room with the inconsolable bundle of frustrated energy.

"We'll get in touch with Belle, and if she is unreachable, we'll look after Alex tonight," Emma offered the weary woman. Blue's shoulders slumped with relief.

"Thank you, Emma. Oh, thank you so much!" She exclaimed and flung her arms around Emma's neck. Green eyes flew open and gingerly she patted the normally so reserved woman on the back and then gently pulled her away. The former fairy patted her face and straightened her clothes, clearly embarrassed by her outburst.

"Do you want us to bring her back to the convent in the morning? I'm not sure where we go from here," Emma admitted honestly. The battle against Pan orphaned more than one child, and it was a matter that required resolution as soon as possible.

"Mayor Cochran visited earlier this evening and obtained a full list of those without parents. She and Dr. Hopper are organizing a town meeting to take place tomorrow afternoon. I suppose, she's trying to find surviving family members who are willing to take in the children and drawing up adoption papers tonight for each child with David and Captain. She's quite efficient. I'm glad to have her fighting for us," Blue admitted in her exhaustion. She'd never been a fan of Regina's, but she no longer denied her redemption or her mayoral successor.

"Emma," Regina caught her attention and broke the moment before she had a chance to respond.

"I'm going to the library. Alexandra has been through enough, and if she needs Belle to sleep, they can have crazy wolf sex after she drifts off," Regina continued and struggled with the toddler. Emma smirked when Mother Superior choked on air and pulled at her clothes, feeling dirty by simply hearing the words.

"Want me to come?" She offered, knowing full well that they'd never leave Henry unattended. Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Blue can drop me off. I'll poof back. Won't be more than a few minutes, Darling," Regina said rather than justify Emma's silly question with a proper answer. She pecked her lips and disappeared out the front door in her sleeping clothes, no bra and probably no underwear, and slippers. Emma chuckled at the vision. Her Regina had returned.

She and Blue avoided speaking as the nun drove them into town. Regina soothed the girl with promises of seeing Belle soon, which led to at least a quieter if still tense ride. Their eyes met when the car rolled to a stop, and they nodded to each other. Regina departed without comment. She waved her hand at the locks on the front door and immediately ascended the steps. Already she heard the sounds of intense passion and took a deep breath.

Regina squatted a few feet from the door and set the girl on her feet. "I need you to do something for me. Can you do that while I get Belle?" Alex nodded and sniffed.

"Close your eyes real tight, and cover your ears, like this," Regina said and demonstrated what she wanted the girl to do. Alex huffed a sobbing breath but obeyed the command with the promise that if she followed it then she'd get to see Belle. She was a bright child, and she pulled a smile onto Regina's face with her resilience.

Regina took a deep breath, glanced at the toddler's back and then knocked on the loft door. "Belle?"

A crash inside and then a thump against the door answered Regina's intrusion. She jerked back. One of them had thrown something at the door, clearly not intending to answer it if the following gasps and moans were any indication. Regina bowed her head and bit her lip in amusement when a very heated "Fuck, Belle, god!" filtered through the door. She almost hated herself for interrupting whatever sexual act the not-so-timid-anymore librarian committed. She squared her shoulders and knocked again.

"Belle!" She called. "Believe me when I say how very sorry I am, but we have a situation that needs your immediate attention," Regina explained. Muffled shuffling of someone moving inside met her. The door flew open.

"What!" Belle yelled at her and wiped mouth with a jerking hand. The door banged against the wall a moment later, and Regina jumped back from the sheer force of angry energy emanating from the other woman.

Belle's upper body was completely naked except for an angry set of scratches across her left breast. Her leather pants were unbuttoned and hung loosely around her hips, combat boots still beneath them. Her chest and stomach heaved with arousal and anger. Regina's shocked eyes jerked back to her face when impatient hands wrapped around the hips peeping around the waistline of leather.

"Regina, what the fuck do you want?" Belle seethed, barely containing her anger enough to keep from yelling. When no immediate answer came, Belle lost her cool.

"Do you need my lover for another adventure? Someone in dire need of saving? Want to tap into her wolf's rage again and have your own go? What? What could you possibly fucking need right now?" She yelled and back Regina towards the rail of the balcony with menacing steps and hot pulsing ire.

"Belle," she whispered and pointed towards the girl with her back still turned. Belle's outburst and obvious anger at Regina's behavior towards Ruby in Neverland was a discussion for another time.

The anger immediately fell from her bright blue eyes, hands slipping from her hips. Ruby stumbled to the doorway wrapped in a sheet, obviously coming to break up the fight between her girlfriend and best friend before it escalated. Before Belle yelled at Regina, she'd contented herself with lounging in the bed in the position her lover left her, but all bets were called off at the first shouted syllable.

"Why is Alex here?" Belle whispered, not wanting to alarm the girl, and crossed her arms over her bare breasts.

"Blue came by the house about ten minutes ago. She said Alex refuses to sleep until she sees you. As I stated, I really am sorry to interrupt you, but I felt the child had been through enough upheaval." Regina explained and averted her eyes from the two disheveled women.

"I'll get dressed," Ruby said immediately, clearly disappointed and still frustrated. Regina wondered how many stacks they destroyed after Alex fell asleep and they moved their passionate embrace to the lower level of the library to avoid waking her again.

Belle nodded and followed her lover. Regina waited. She reappeared a moment later, pants buttoned and a loose t-shirt covering her, though the jiggling of her breasts told Regina that she'd foregone a bra. She met Regina's eyes as she rounded the corner, but Belle's gaze dropped sheepishly, a sign of embarrassment about her outburst. Regina let it go. Belle had also been through enough without her gouging at her for an apology.

Alex flung herself at Belle. Regina smiled. Soft accented whispers of comfort soothed the little girl. Ruby met her eyes and then followed her smile down the hall. Belle was so natural with children, so destined to be a mother. She had immediately taken to Henry and every other child who walked into her library, redirecting time from the daunting task of running it completely by herself to have an after school story time every afternoon. The day care for the younger children, like Alex, had begun taking daily fieldtrips to visit the woman and listen to her animated readings. The kids loved her stories and books, and she in turn loved them.

It made the poignancy of her decision to end her own pregnancy so much sharper. She protected her unborn child at the cost of her own happiness and clear conscience. That grief was something that lined the walls of her heart, never to be released no matter how many years passed. Ruby shook the thought away and watched the scene unfolding before her. She intended to give Belle as many children as she wanted when the right time eventually came.

"Emma's waiting," Regina said and touched her friend's arm. Ruby nodded without meeting her eyes, too enchanted by the magical moment of Belle comforting an emotionally distraught toddler.

Regina flashed from the library and appeared in the guest room at the mansion. Emma's length stretched out in the middle of the bed, spread eagle. Regina grunted in amusement and kicked off her slippers. Green eyes rolled towards her lazily and then returned to the thoughtful gaze towards the ceiling she'd had when Regina first appeared. She crawled up her body, straddled her hips and supported her weight on her elbows as she inserted herself into Emma's sightline.

"Is Alex okay?" Emma asked absently, already knowing Regina never would have left the young girl if she wasn't. Warm lips pressed soft kisses along her jaw as a response.

"Regina, is it safe to teleport with Annabel?" Emma asked and pushed at her shoulders lightly. Regina huffed in frustration and sat up.

"I don't know, Emma. I can't imagine a magically conceived baby being injured by using half of the magic that give it life." Regina clipped in a frustrated tone.

Desire overruled their need to discuss and make preparations for their child. Her lips returned to Emma's jaw and slipped down her neck when no more questions followed her irritated explanation. Emma sighed, the breath tickling Regina's ear and sending tendrils of adrenaline and pleasure down Regina's neck. Her hips rolled into Emma's, and a bubble of pressure expanded in her lower belly.

"Her," Emma said. Regina pulled back enough to tell Emma how frustrated and confused she was with her eyes.

"Her, not it." she firmly. "The baby is a girl." Regina huffed, grabbed Emma's hands and pinned them above her head.

"Emma, Darling, I love you, and I cannot wait to plan for our chi… daughter, but if you don't shut the hell up and make love to me, right now, I will be forced to resort to extreme measures," she threatened. As the words tumbled out in a deep, sensuous rumble, she rolled her hips and slid her torso along the body beneath her. Emma's eyes glazed with arousal as she snapped out her baby reverie.

"Will there be spanking?" Emma taunted and intentionally kept her body rigid despite the call to give in to her lover's touches.

"Hardly, but there may be handcuffs and hot wax involved," Regina growled into her ear and bit her neck. She knew exactly the game Emma played and hated the fact that, after all this time, it still made her climb the walls with desire for her cheeky partner.

Emma tensed involuntarily, and the bottom of her belly quaked, the muscles there clenching painfully as she envisioned the suggestion. Regina naked and splayed on the floor in front of the fireplace in Belle's library, hands bound above her head and resting on the hearth. The flickering fire reflected in the tiny drops of white wax covering her trembling body. Emma jerked from the fantasy when insistent fingers found one of her painfully hardened nipples through the thin fabric of her tank top.

Forceful hands slid into black hair and then cradled the head it belonged to as she suddenly found herself atop her lover. Shirts fell to the floor. Skin slid. Hands searched. Regina moaned loudly and pushed against the body above her. The heady scent of arousal surrounded her as Emma's shorts joined their shirts on the floor and she settled her body between her lover's scarred and scratched and bruised legs.

Demanding hands buried into dark hair before she even felt the hot tongue against her. Regina reminded herself that Emma had not had sex or any sort of release since the day she'd been kidnapped. She had stayed strong and noble and unwavering in her love for so long. Even in Neverland, she'd refused pleasure because she had wanted Regina to enjoy feeling it without the expectation of reciprocity. And now… Now, she intended to return every single thing to her lover with only her tongue and fingers until Emma screamed her name and passed out from the fullness in her heart.

The night took an entirely different turn with one glance.

Though she'd intended to take Emma fast and hard, everything changed when brown eyes slid up a toned body and found silent tears glistening on flushed cheeks. She yearned for Regina's touch, no matter how fast or rough. That much, Regina deciphered from Emma's quiet acceptance of her roughness, but she knew she'd made the right decision when an emotional and cathartic sob pulled from Emma's throat as she gently spread her lower lips and tasted her with one tender stroke with the flat of her tongue. She needed her to be gentle.

Emma pushed softly at her head, and Regina repeated the movement, pulling more tears from her lover. This had been the reason Emma distracted her with baby talk. She knew how close to the brink her fragile emotional state had wandered and desperately fought the biological urges that threatened to push her over the edge. Regina caught her.

Over and over, she pushed Emma higher with each rippling wave of pleasure. Her first climax came quickly, a testament to the pent up frustration of being without her touch for so long. Emma tugged lightly at her hair and then returned the gentle pressure on the back of head, giving her permission to continue. She obliged and cradled against her heart the responsibility of Emma's pending meltdown when her emotions shattered and released the grief and rage and horror of what she'd just gone through in order to save their love, their family, their town.

A high pitched gasping sob surrounded them, filling the room with a buzzing energy of grief and joy and pain and desire. Emma clenched around her fingers inside and stilled on the outside as the second muscle spasm of intense pleasure crashed into her. Emma pulled her at her hair, and Regina moved up her body and left her fingers buried inside the velvet walls massaging them as her lover rode out the waves of pleasure.

Salty lips collided, one set with tears and the other with the wetness of desire. Regina slid an arm beneath Emma's neck and held her weight on her elbow. Emma's quivering hands pressed their mouths together painfully. Regina broke the kiss and moved her lips along Emma's cheek and jaw, forcing her lover's face into her chest. She held the back of her head tightly and moved her other hand inside her clenching center. A muffled cry vibrated against her chest. Regina held her tightly and waited for Emma's body and emotions to explode beneath her tender ministrations.

Emma wailed into her neck as her hips responded to the touch between her legs. Tears of her own slid down her cheek and nose and dripped into golden hair. She hadn't told Emma the entire story behind the prophecy, hoping it to be false or at least over exaggerated, but as Emma's sobs grew in strength and sound, she knew every single word had been true and unavoidable. The heart of The Truest Believer was destined to destroy itself in the pursuit of The Lost Soul. Over and over, for the rest of their lives, Emma's beautiful heart self-destructed in order to save her every time.

It's the reason her soul mate had to be so incredibly tortured. Only a tortured and abused soul understood the deep, irrevocable anguish forced upon Emma's powerful and forgiving heart. As much as she believed Emma deserved to know the truth, Emma's hollow sobs ensured that she shouldered this bit of the prophecy in solitude with perhaps Ruby as the exception. Emma already knew that they'd be torn apart over and over throughout their lives, but she only saw the portion that said she found her Lost Soul each time.

Regina brought her to climax for a third time knowing how deeply each disjunction scored the unbreakable resilience of her lover's heart. It was her cross to bear. If Emma knew, she'd spend her life constantly wondering when her partner as well as her sanity was going to be jerked from beneath her again. It would have destroyed her. She knew too much already. A parting of their hearts for brief intervals of adventure hadn't necessarily merited profound suffering, at least not to Emma, but Regina knew better now. She knew every single word of the story of The Truest Believer to be veritable in that moment.

"I'm here, Emma," Regina whispered into her ear and wrapped a wet hand around her back when the trembling woman grabbed at her arm and shoulder in a desperate jerk.

"Tell me," Emma begged around her congested throat.

"I love you," Regina breathed into her ear, hiding her tears with a soft voice. She kissed her wet cheek.

"I love you, Emma." She wiped the savior's tears with her free hand and then buried it in tangled golden tresses.

"I love you." Slow, wet kisses moved over Emma's jaw line, dropped to her shoulder and continued down her arm and then retraced their path until they found tear-covered lips.

"I love you," Regina whispered one more time when they parted.

She urged Emma into action and wiggled the blanket from beneath them. She pulled away slightly and removed her shorts underneath the sheet and tossed them carelessly to the floor and then settled herself against the pillows. Emma's hazy mind grasped enough lucidity to wait until she got situated and reached for her before collapsing onto her chest. Her thigh slid in between Regina's and her head rested on the shoulder opposite the rest of her body. She was practically on top of the older woman.

"Am I hurting you?" Emma whispered after a few minutes. Regina grinned, dropped a kiss to the back of her head, and trailed feathery fingers down her spine. Ever the white knight, Emma Swan, she thought and linked her hands against Emma's shoulder blades.

"I want to feel you," Regina said as though it actually answered her question. They'd been in this position before, once, the first time they had spent hours making slow, emotional love out of fear that Cora's wrath would have robbed them of ever feeling each other again.

She'd stayed up that night and watched over Emma as she slept, and as the savior's breathing evened out, she realized that on some level she had wanted to do that again this night. Exhaustion and her own emotional rawness had different ideas, however. Her head jerked and her eyes blinked rapidly, but she quickly lost the battle and followed her lover into the blissful oblivion of dreamless sleep.


	32. That's My Job

Thank you for the fantastic reviews! Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Cinderlla by Steven Curtis Chapman, That's my Job by Conway Twitty, I choose You by Sara Bareilles

* * *

Regina woke slowly, confused for a moment by the hot weight against her chest. She rubbed her eyes, creating moisture behind them before cracking the lids. She'd always hated the guest room. It always caught the sun in the morning. She glared at it and then craned her neck to find a head of tangled yellow hair tickling her chin. Emma. She smiled as the previous night returned to her. It wasn't perfect, but Emma's breakdown directed them towards the path of recovery and healing, and for once, she'd actually been there to catch her instead of straggling behind and gathering bits and pieces.

"Emma," she whispered. Her conscience nagged her to let Emma sleep a while longer, but her heart stirred to see those bright green eyes.

"It's time to wake up, Darling," Regina bade and jostled her shoulder slightly. Emma grumbled and then whimpered pathetically.

"No classes. The cupcakes weren't chocolate, and the school caught on fire," she mumbled, and Regina giggled. What in world was Emma dreaming about?

Emma jerked at the sound and wiped furiously at her face and the swell of Regina's breast. Regina watched her embarrassed lover and bit her lip, barely containing the laughter bubbling in her chest.

"I drooled on you," Emma said stupidly and then sobered when her eyes moved across the chest she'd spent the night draped over. Regina stiffened.

"Do you they hurt?" Emma asked and brushed one finger over the scabs of the block letters scrawled across the skin.

"A little. It's been several days, though, so I imagine they're nearly healed," Regina answered neutrally. Her eyes, however, hardened and she swallowed roughly with the underlying emotion of the brand The Dark One made upon her. No matter where she went, unless she covered her chest, those words would constantly remind her and everyone else of her dark past, of The Evil Queen. It was the deepest mark he could have made upon her.

"I'm sorry. Should I not touch them?" She pulled her hand away. Regina snagged it and brought it back.

"You need to accept this as much as I do, Emma," she explained and lowered Emma's palm to the scratchy bumps. The chest beneath their joined hands sunk as it deflated and then swelled with emotion.

"I refuse to cover them," Regina said. Green and brown met in a duel.

"I've earned the right to wear my battle scars as proudly as you and Belle and Ruby," Regina defended her decision needlessly. Emma dropped her gaze submissively, forfeiting the battle of wills.

"Of course you have, Baby. And you know that I'll support whatever you decide, but… Do you really want this displayed as a badge of honor? You know how stupid people are. I just don't want them to judge you anymore. That's all." Emma brushed her thumb over the scores in the skin as she spoke. The fact that Rumpelstilskin had carved such a heinous and torturous reminder of her past into Regina chest made her blood boil.

"Emma, did he come through?" Regina said suddenly and sat up, dislodging Emma from her hip. "I don't recall seeing him or Pan among the prisoners yesterday. It's possible I missed them in the chaos, but if not, we need to find them." Regina suddenly felt wide awake and determined.

Emma readjusted herself against the pillows, tossed her arm above her head and watched. She snapped the bra into place and then pulled a black camisole with black lace over head. Emma swallowed and steadied her breathing. Watching Regina dress was one of the biggest turn ons she'd discovered thus far. It instantly filled her with the desire to rip the perfectly pressed fabric from her lover and wrinkle it by tossing it carelessly on the floor. She groaned in frustration when Regina slipped into a familiar black dress. Regina whirled with narrowed eyes.

"It has like a hundred buttons on it! Do you know how hard it is to get that off without ripping it open?" Emma exclaimed and waved her hands around dramatically. Regina smirked and twisted the last button into its hole without comment.

The dress was a black short-sleeve, mid-thigh number with a plunging V-shaped neckline with lapels that showed her beautifully defined collarbones, newly marred chest and enough cleavage to make even Mother Superior jealous of the sexy. The camisole barely covered enough to justify wearing it. Two rows of buttons ran down the front, one for show and the other holding the fabric together. It was a bitchy outfit and caused a rippling wave of confidence and sex appeal to roll from the woman. Perhaps a feeling she inspired within herself intentionally with the very Evil Mayor Mills outfit.

She was stunning, and Emma twitched bodily when she stepped into her shiny black pumps. One side of Regina's mouth quirked into a smirk at the visible reaction of her affect on Emma Swan's libido. It felt wonderful to feel beautiful again. Emma sat up and swung her feet over the bed when Regina took two steps towards the head of the bed.

"I can forego the panties and tights I'd intended you prefer momentary, unfettered access."

Regina spoke and moved simultaneously. Hot hands grabbed Emma's shoulders for balance and straddled her without actually touching her by setting one heel on the bed at Emma's hip and leaving the other firmly planted on the floor on the other side of Emma's legs. If Emma leaned forward, she'd have no problems taking Regina with her tongue right then and there. She swallowed and looked up at Regina with hazy green eyes.

"Beneath the conference table during Stacy's counsel meetings this morning, perhaps?" Regina suggested immediately, stringing her thoughts together as though she'd thought about this very thing a hundred times. Emma gulped. Her Regina had most definitely returned, brazen sexuality included.

A loud bang at the door made them both jump.

"Goddamn wolf hearing! Ow! Son of a bitch!" Ruby's flustered voice filtered through the wood. They later discovered that Ruby tripped over her own feet when she'd heard the dirty talk and fell into the door as she came to wake them for coffee and breakfast before the meetings because she knew how late they slept if given the freedom to do so.

"Regina Mills, I better see tights when you come downstairs! Coffee's ready!" A string of indistinguishable curses followed the wolf back down the hall.

Regina and Emma moved their gazes slowly from the door to each other and immediately giggled. Poor Ruby had been subjected to more than her fair share of unintentional eavesdropping that left her flustered and embarrassed, mostly from them during their visits over the eight months they'd lived in Salem. Regina pulled away, and Emma dutifully dressed in one of Regina's power pant suits since she'd brought no clothes with her when they'd blown back into Storybrooke in attempt to stop Pan's people from activating the trigger.

She nearly fell over when she glanced up at Regina to find her with one foot propped on the bed. The sheer fabric of her black, almost see-thru panty hose rolled over her knee. Breath caught in Emma's throat. One perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised above smoky black eyes. Regina slowed her hands, pulling the fabric up her thigh as slowly as humanly possible. She thought Emma might actually try to climb the wall. She sputtered and bolted from the room. Regina smirked outright with a throaty chuckle and stepped back into her heels.

Emma returned a few moments later wearing jeans, socks, and a black v-neck t-shirt that she'd seen Ruby in a hundred times. She left the door opened and returned the suit to its proper hanger. She must have raided Ruby's closet for something more comfortable. She slipped into her boots, eyes blatantly avoiding Regina's body. Regina narrowed her eyes at the turned back of her lover. Oh that just won't do, Miss Swan.

Emma straightened from adjusting her boots and immediately found herself surrounding by a thousand sensations.

"Emma," Regina breathed into her ear. Breasts pressed into her back. Hands slid over hips, and then two fingertips followed the crease of her thighs on either side. Emma jerked, intending to remove herself from the stimulation, but the hands grabbed her hips and gave a firm tug. The swell of her ass collided with Regina's center. Regina moaned, and Emma fought the urge to grind against her persistent lover.

"Regina," she chided when the one hand slid up her stomach and covered her breast and the other cupped the throbbing heat between her legs. Emma gasped, arched her back. Her head fell carelessly onto the shoulder behind her. She was two seconds from going back to bed and taking Regina with her. She'd reached the limit of the teasing.

"Ahem." Belle cleared her throat obviously from the doorway. Emma's head jerked up, but Regina's hands remained where they were and any pressure forward only put more pressure on both her breast and her clit. She was stuck with her best friend staring with crossed arms and raised eyebrows of amusement.

"Guess I don't need to ask why Ruby hasn't stopped blushing yet. She sent me to make sure you were fully… roused," Belle said with a smirk. Emma's eyes slipped shut, and her palm slapped over her eyes. Hard ass Belle was mean, she whined silently.

Mercifully, Regina released her, and she followed the two women to the kitchen on wobbly legs. She was happy to see Belle in jeans a light blue t-shirt rather than black leather. It was a nice in-between outfit of her bipolar personalities, feminine with sharp swords strapped to her back. They all stopped and banged into each other at the sight that greeted them in the kitchen.

Ruby held Alex in front of her with one arm beneath the tiny thighs around her waist. A little hand gripped brown and red hair at the wolf's shoulder and the other rested in the palm of Ruby's long, thin hand. The child smiled, but her face was blotchy as though she'd been crying, and some soft country song about Cinderella played. Her mother had been Cinderella. Of course, the reminder of her absence made her cry. Ruby hummed gently and swayed, dipping the child every couple of turns and sending her into a fit of giggles.

She must have truly been focused completely on the girl because their bumbling entrance went unnoticed by her sensitive ears. The song ended and a slower, older voice came over the speaker. Ruby smiled and twirled the girl and then surprised everyone more when she opened her mouth, and a strong, steady and perfectly pitched voice filled the kitchen.

"That's my job. That's what I do. Everything I do is because of you to keep you safe with me. That's my job you see." She smiled and tipped Alex's red nose with a finger.

The girl smiled up at her with bright blue eyes and then wrapped her tiny arms tightly around Ruby's neck, burying her face in silky hair. Ruby froze and shifted uncomfortably for a few seconds and then returned the girl's hug with a hand that looked much larger on her tiny back. They only caught her profile, but the brown eye visible to them was wide and unseeing with shock and shimmering with unshed tears. She swallowed, her entire head moving with the strained gesture. The girl readjusted her head and finally noticed the other three women.

"Belle!" She immediately squirmed and wiggled until Ruby lowered her to the tile. She ran at the librarian and was immediately scooped into her waiting arms.

Regina and Emma smiled at each other knowingly. Their friends weren't far from joining them in parenthood. Unfortunately, Alex's grandfather, the former king, probably took charge of the little girl today at Town Hall. A bouncier song came on, and Ruby squeezed the little girl between them and pulled Belle into a two-step. Alex squealed and clapped her hands in joy, and Emma and Regina moved to the coffee pot. Where was Henry?

They spoke without words, fixed their coffee and moved through the house in search of their son. They found him staring at the television in the living room. He looked as though his mind failed to register the flashes across the screen, and they immediately squished him between them on the couch. He jerked, only realizing they'd entered the room when he jostled on the couch.

"Hey," Emma soothed and set a hand on his shoulder. Regina rubbed his back.

"Are you alright, Henry?" Regina asked and met Emma's eyes when the boy dropped his chin to his chest. What the hell had their son seen?

"Henry, it's okay, Buddy. We're here. Whatever you got going on in there. We'll help you through it." Emma tried when Regina's question got no response.

"When are we going back to Boston?" He asked neutrally and clenched his hands into fists.

"I'm not sure, Bud. We got a lot of work to do here. Why?" Emma answered again when Regina's eyes filled with tears.

"42," he said as if it explained everything. Emma squeezed his shoulder when she heard the crack in his voice.

"42?" She asked for clarification. Henry huffed and wiped angrily at his cheeks when tears dripped onto them.

"That's how many people from Storybrooke died. There are still six missing. Aunt Belle stopped counting after Cinderella and Thomas because she felt guilty, but I didn't. I have a list," he said and fished a folded piece of wrinkled and worn paper stained with tear drops from his pocket.

Emma took it with shaking hands and then pulled the boy into her arms. Regina pressed into them from the other side. They both cried freely, making Henry feel secure enough to do so as well. He buried his face in Emma's neck and painfully gripped Regina's arm wrapped around Emma's waist. Green and brown locked gazes over the boy's head, and Emma swiped her thumb beneath Regina's eyes. The older woman smiled brilliantly at her lover.

Despite his anguish, their son hadn't pushed them away. It was a great sign considering he'd probably watched most of the people on that list die in battle. Belle told them at the hospital last night that things had escalated too quickly to do anything but react to the violence constantly flung at them. Emma really wanted to be angry that Henry had been subjected to those horrors, but she had kept him alive and safe. The only way to do that was keeping him at her side. Given their clinginess last night while visiting with Granny, she had also been there for him emotionally. He'd never forget, but perhaps with their help and Belle's, he stood a good chance at recovering.

"Hey," Belle called gently from the edge of the living room. The trio looked up with red eyes and shining faces.

"I'm sorry to… Stacy called. Almost everyone has gathered at Town Hall. They want to get the children taken care of first before they decide how to handle the prisoners and repairs and… memorials," she finished quietly and dropped her gaze to her combat boots.

"Of course," Regina answered thickly and then studied her son's face. "Henry, would you like to come? Or if you'd like Emma or I could stay here with you," she gave him a way out. He shook his head.

"Can I go sit with Granny?" He asked, and his mothers nodded simultaneously.

"Can you poof me there?" He looked expectantly at Regina. She sputtered for a moment and then narrowed her eyes as she studied her son. Who was he and what had Belle done with the Henry who hated magic?

"If you'd like," she said carefully, unsure if he'd set a trap for her and intended to use it against her later. Emma kissed Henry's head and then Regina's lips. Regina poofed before they parted, and a faint hint of magic tingled against her lips.

"Poof!" Alex called from Ruby's arms, clapped her hands and then waved them in the air like an explosion. They all grinned at that.

By the time they reached Town Hall, nearly every single person had squeezed inside. Hook's gaze immediately pulled to Ruby the moment she entered. Belle glared and slid her hand around Ruby's hip possessively as he sidled up to the wolf. He nodded the shorter woman and then smirked up at Ruby in his fake lascivious manner. Belle shoved Alex into Ruby's arms and clapped her hand around Hook's shoulders.

"Give us a moment, Darling," she told Ruby and then pulled Hook a few feet into the crowd. Ruby stared at their backs and wrangled the squirming two and a half-year-old.

Belle pressed her hip into Hook's leg when she stopped abruptly, pulling back on his shoulder to keep them even. He stared down at the pissed off woman in confusion. He knew he screwed up, but she released him from jail. She clenched her jaw and met the man's gaze.

"Stay away from her. She may have forgiven you, but her heart is too big for her own good sometimes. While you may not have realized that she didn't have her heart, you still had sex with a woman who was being tortured and held against her will. So, feel bad and guilty all you want, but do it from a safe distance. If you don't I swear to you, I'll make good on my promise to turn your scrotum into a trophy," she said coldly, eyes flicking to the mentioned area and then back up.

He followed her gaze down his body and nearly cried out like a frightened child. A steady hand held the tip of a dagger against the crotch of his leather pants. She'd been so subtle that he'd not even felt it through his anxiety of his royal fuck up and the ass chewing he thought he'd been about to receive. His wide eyes met hers again, and he swallowed audibly. Belle smiled prettily.

"Are we clear?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice. He nodded, too afraid of the slightly psychopathic display to use his voice.

"Wonderful," she said and returned the dagger to the sheath on her belt. "Now, run along and lick your wounded pride, Pirate." She hit the "T" at the end of the word with extra emphasis, adding to the threat she'd just thrown onto the table. He tucked tail and scurried off. Belle took a deep breath and turned to Ruby and Alex with a bright smile in place.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked apprehensively, not having seen the dagger between their connected bodies.

Regina's sudden appearance saved her from responding. They joined Stacy at the head table upon the stage. The four heroines knew already that they were expected to show support and leadership in this time of crisis, whether they wanted to or not. Emma pulled out Regina's chair and then stood behind it as she sat. Regina smiled shyly at the antiquated gesture of respect and affection. God, she had missed Emma Swan. Ruby sat to her left and Belle beside Ruby. Emma sat to her right, her two protectors.

Belle slouched in the chair and lifted the girl onto her lap. Alex straddled her thighs and leaned on the edge of the table. She and Belle babbled quietly to each other as Stacy called the meeting to order and began reading off the list of orphans and their parents. Most of them had extended families or mentors willing to take them in. Marco offered to take a boy who had no other family or willing guardian. The boy smiled gratefully with tears in his eyes, and Marco wrapped his callous but gentle hand around the boy's shoulder.

Belle ignored the meeting for the most part in lieu of pretending to bite at Alex's tiny fingers when she tried to play with her teeth. Ruby watched the interaction with a heavy heart. Mr. Herman sat in the crowd near the middle and surely he'd not allow his only blood heir out of his grasp. Alex had family waiting for her. Belle should have turned her over to him by now, but the woman wanted to squeeze every last second possible with the child. It made Ruby's heart ache. Eventually, the time came.

Stacy called Alex's name, and Belle steeled her features. Mr. Herman wasn't a pleasant man, and she loathed the thought of Alex growing up like that. She knew she'd be denied the right to visit with the girl she'd grown so fond of. She touched the girl's hair and grinned with tight lips.

"Ready to go to Grandpa?" Belle asked. Alex simply stared. Had she ever met her grandfather? Belle held the girl's hand and walked her from the stage. Stacy continued.

"Mr. Herman, if you'd like to take custody of your granddaughter Alexandra Herman, I only need your signature on this form," Stacy said and handed the paper to her assistant who brought them to the edge of the stage and then returned them to the mayor.

Alex clung to one finger of Belle's much larger hand and wobbled down the aisle, unsure but trusting Belle implicitly. The former king stood and met them at the end of the row of chairs. He looked down at the girl without any softness in his eyes and then at Belle's scarred face and then Stacy patiently waiting upon the stage.

"I do not wish to take custody of this abomination. The girl was a maid. She never should have carried my heir. Put her in the system," he said with a wave of his hand and then turned to leave Town Hall, his familial duties handled. A burst of whispers filled the space, and Belle quieted them with her angry voice.

"Are you fucking serious?" Belle blurted, and the man froze along with everyone else. Belle had clearly hidden a lot from all of them, and given her iciness since the war began, they were uncertain of her control.

"Yes, I am," the former royal growled in a deep voice as he turned around to face the tiny woman.

"Mr. Herman, Alex is the sweetest little girl on the planet. She's just lost her parents, and you're going to turn your back on her? What sense is there in that? How fucking heartless are you?" Belle tore into him.

"We'll take her," a quiet voice called from the stage. It sounded a lot like Ruby's, and Belle froze. What? Ruby cleared her throat, and her chair scraped across the floor as she stood.

"We'll take her," Ruby's now confident voice echoed off the marble walls. Belle whirled so fast that she nearly lost her balance.

"Ruby Lucas, have you lost your damn mind?" Belle demanded in shock. Alex gripped her finger tighter.

"Since becoming Regina Mill's best friend and your lover? Yes, yes, I have every day," Ruby answered only half joking. She rounded the table and stood at the edge of the stage as Belle approached with the little girl still holding her finger tightly. Everyone simply stared, too shocked to say anything.

"What happened to waiting for the right time?" Belle asked up to her partner. Ruby hopped from the stage and grabbed her shoulders.

"There is never going to be a right time. If we can take anything away from this tragedy, it's that. We have to grab life as it comes at us. You want kids. I want kids. We don't feel ready, but what parent ever does. Regina and Emma and Granny will help us muddle through it when we get lost. We have a crap ton of stuff to work through, but so does everyone else in this room. And Alex," she smiled down at the girl who released Belle's finger and reached for her. Ruby picked her up without hesitation.

"Wolf!" Alex shouted and tugged at a red streak in Ruby's hair, confused at how it had gotten there.

"Alex has already stolen my heart as much as you have," Ruby confessed and cupped Belle's face with her free hand. Her thumb caught a tear as it spilled. Belle sniffed and dropped her gaze to the hands she wrung in front of her belly.

"You're sort of amazing, you know that?" She said and tipped her gaze up to soulful brown eyes.

"You make me that way," Ruby countered. "Ask anyone here. I was a complete and utter drunken mess before you came along. Belle, I want this." She admitted, surprising even herself when the beautiful honesty of her statement laced her words.

"We have a child," Belle whined around her tears. She giggled into the emotion. "I feel so silly for crying right now." She made fun of herself and wiped at her face, feeling the bumps of her jagged scar.

"Not silly," Ruby countered. "Beautiful." Belle gasped when the word she needed to hear the most fell from the lips of the person she most needed to hear it from. They met for a tear-soaked kiss.

Stacy cleared her throat, bringing them through the emotional moment as she wiped a tear of her own. "You'll both need to sign. Do you wish to change her last name?"

"Lucas," Belle said easily and caught Alex as she fell into her and wrapped tiny arms around her neck.

"Really?" Ruby melted bodily, her voice raising in pitch. Belle grinned and hefted the girl for a better grip.

"What do you say, Alexandra? You want to be a Lucas? Hm? I'd like to be a Lucas one day," Belle confessed to the girl in a hushed tone, leaning her head to the side to catch the girl's eye. Ruby jerked bodily as the reality of that statement slammed into her gut.

"Lucas! Wolf!" Alex exclaimed and then giggled and buried her face in Belle's neck, suddenly timid when she realized a whole room of people stared at her.

"Yes, Ruby's a wolf," Belle confirmed and grinned at her almost adopted daughter.

"Become one now," Ruby said in a jagged, raspy voice and then cleared her suddenly dry throat.

"Ruby Lucas, are you asking me to marry you?" Belle snapped, and Ruby cowered. Whispers tore through the crowd. Someone had finally tamed Ruby Lucas. Most believed she'd never settle down, her own grandmother among them.

Ruby nodded, not trusting her voice. Belle glared at her with disbelieving and slightly irritated eyes. She huffed and cocked her hip, which lost most of its sassy effect with a child attached to it.

"Ruby Lucas, I wholeheartedly accept your proposal, but I refuse to do so at Town Hall on a whim. There will be music and dancing and flower girls," she bumped her head against Alex's in a moment of softness and then gathered her irritation.

"And it may be my only chance to ever see Emma Swan in a dress because she will hopefully be my maid of honor." She met Emma's eyes over Ruby's shoulder. She held an emotional Regina against her chest and nodded.

"I'll wear a dress for you," Emma joked, and some folks chuckled.

"I'm not getting out of this in any aspect, am I?" Ruby asked, amusement in her voice, as she signed the custody paper and then the change of name request. She loved her demanded and sassy… uh, fiancée?

"Not an inch shall I give, Ruby Lucas," Belle confirmed and signed her name below Ruby's on both.

"Holy crap," Ruby breathed as the reality of what they'd just done crashed down on her. She grabbed her heaving chest and fell against the stage. Was she having a heart attack?

"Breath, you silly mutt," Regina ordered from the stage. Emma covered her belly with a sure and steady hand. She'd had nearly the same reaction on the beach when they'd gone back for Ruby.

"Wolf!" Alex yelled and reached for the hyperventilating woman.

Ruby calmed almost immediately and took the girl in her arms. Alex tipped her head back and howled, and the entire room burst into laughter. The girl jumped and hid in Ruby's neck, frightened by the sudden noise and the massive amount of attention. Belle rubbed their daughter's back and pressed her lips to Ruby's.

"I want to pick out my ring," she demanded as turned abruptly and moved towards the steps of the stage with a sensual sway in her hips. "And I expect a second proposal far more romantic than this, Ruby Lucas."

Ruby turned to Alex and smiled.

"I'm going to spend eternity chasing after that woman, aren't I?" She asked the child who simply stared up at her with big blue eyes. They were the color of Belle's, and she fell in love with the little girl all over again.

"Holy crap," Ruby said and followed her lover back to the stage. Apparently, she was destined to be wrapped around the pinky of two highly demanding, blue-eyed beauties.


	33. The Child of Dark and Light

Last chapter! I posted the epilogue with it so you wouldn't have to wait. Thanks for taking this journey with me and giving me your support and wonderful reviews! You're all wonderful.

Warning: You might get turned on by the badassery and then cry.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Bad Reputation by Joan Jett, Fields of Gold be Celtic Woman's Lisa Kelly

* * *

Emma twisted at the waist as she exited Town Hall. He spine snapped and popped as it realigned, and she sighed into the relief and held her arms out to her sides as the brisk wind bounced against her. She hated meetings, and this one had lasted nearly four hours. People split around her, not bothering to ask one of the heroines of Storybrooke to move out of the door. Some patted her on the back or touched her shoulder in thanks or support, but no one bothered her for conversation. Good, she thought.

Familiar hands slid over her ribs and clasped around her waist. She sighed into Regina's touch and leaned into her and then turned in the embrace and pressed their fronts together. Her body responded immediately, and she allowed the older woman to pull her into a heated kiss. Some people snickered, others rolled their eyes, but all stared in envy. Emma loosed a throaty sigh and pulled back before she took Regina up on her earlier offer of sex in public at the counsel table.

"You are insatiable," she commented breathily and pushed at Regina's shoulders when hot lips moved to her jaw and then dropped to her neck.

"What the hell are you doing, Miss Swan?" Regina called angrily from the doors of Town Hall with Belle, Ruby and Alex at her side. Emma's eyes flew open. What the hell? The crowd stopped and stared at the savior with a young man latched to her neck instead of Regina Mills.

"Ah, true love," Pan's voice vibrated against her neck. He'd cloaked himself as Regina?

Emma's mind swirled. He had come through the portal. She vaguely heard Regina call her name over the roaring in her ears and the pounding of her heart in her hands. She hated magic. She shoved him away roughly but moved no further when a powerful pulse surrounded her, immobilizing her to the spot. Pan laughed, and held up an ornate dagger. Rumpelstiltskin's name was carved into the blade. He controlled The Dark One. Regina met her eyes.

They were parted. Regina's magic wasn't strong enough to defeat both, and she lacked the control and ability to tap into hers. Regina shoved Belle and Alex back inside and sealed the doors magically. It was all she could do before a ball of energy hit her back and she tumbled down the stairs. Emma tried to scream. Ruby howled and covered Regina's body with her own when another pulse sailed towards the injured witch.

The wolf flew over the pavement and dirt of the two combined worlds and rolled into the grass, sprawling on her belly as the momentum stopped. Ruby. Emma struggled against the invisible bonds. She searched desperately for the dormant magic in her heart, but the surge of power refused to listen.

"Your wolf's heart is bigger than her bite," Pan taunted and snapped the magic-containing shackles around Regina's wrists. Belle screamed in frustration from within the doors, followed by a hacking sound as she tried to get through Regina's magical barrier, and Pan smirked.

Regina almost made it to her feet, but a pulse flew from Rumpel's hand as he came into Emma's vision. His face had been healed, obviously by Pan. She should have killed him when she had the opportunity. She pushed harder but gained no ground.

"Now, about my magic," Pan said as he knelt beside Regina. Emma's eyes widened. He was going to kill her in front of everyone. She was defenseless against him without magic. Terrified brown eyes rolled to green. Rage grew inside her belly, and she accepted its soothing warmth in her veins. It felt familiar, but it wasn't enough to tap her heart's magic.

"A magical child," he said and touched her belly.

"No!" Emma screamed. She spoke, which meant her strength slowly overcame that of The Dark One's that held her hostage. Pan smirked up at her.

"Conceived by belief and the two most powerful opposing magical forces this or any other realm has ever seen. Pure rage and pure love. I wonder which one I can cultivate when I take her from you?" Pan taunted. He wanted their child. He wanted to make her evil, nurture the rage and ignore the love. She'd be an unstoppable force of evil. Emma and Regina came to the realization at the same time. They'd created something more powerful than even the ancients could have dreamed of.

"Or maybe," Pan said in a curious tone. Regina screamed in pain when his hand sunk into her belly. His eye slid shut and a blissful expression spread on his face. Ruby moaned. She was alive, but the relief never touched her two friends as they watched Pan in horror.

"Ah, yes. You really should have let Emma carry this child, Your Majesty. I'd not have stood a chance of taking your baby's soul had it been within her. You chose the weaker magic to protect the child. You should have chosen love." Pan explained and moved his hand around inside Regina. Part of Emma thought perhaps he prolonged his digging in order to cause her unnecessary pain.

Rage filled Emma combined with a swell of love for her child. A shimmer of blue light reflected in Regina's brown eyes. Emma loosed an anguished cry as she broke free of her bonds. Her arms flew dangerously in front of her, and a pulse of blue magic smacked into Pan's side. The crowd gasped in shock when the boy collided with the doors, broke through Regina's barrier spell and sent splinters of wood flying. Belle knelt near the wall and turned her face away from the jagged shards without loosing her grip on the swirling ball of yellow energy in her hands.

She met Emma's eyes for a moment and then pushed her magic forward into Rumpelstiltskin's chest. He screamed in pain as the flames surrounded him. He literally became a fire ball as the force of the blast knocked him back several yards. The smell of charred flesh choked the crowd. Emma rushed to Regina, and Belle jumped the steps in her haste to check on Ruby.

"Baby, are you hurt? Did he get her? Is Annabel okay!" Emma blurted hysterically as she pulled Regina into her chest.

"She's okay, Emma. Get these off me," she said and held up her hands.

Emma waved her glowing hand over the shackles. They clattered to the ground. The crowd swelled again with gossip when Emma reached into her chest and pulled her heart free. Regina jerked as its power filled her once more, and she accepted it within her chest. She had more control, and if she had Emma's heart, their daughter was completely protected. Emma, however, had rendered herself defenseless. She pulled Regina to her feet, wrapped an arm around her belly from behind and trusted Regina to keep her alive. Stupid, big, beautiful heart.

"Emma, we need to check on Henry," Regina whispered. Emma nodded. Ruby and Belle took up a stance on either side of Regina.

"Ruby and Emma should go. Alex is leaving out the back with Archie and Stacy. You two are no match for The Dark One and Pan combined. We are," Belle said confidently and met Regina's gaze.

"Of course you wield the Magic of Intellect, Miss French. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before," Regina said with a smirk of appreciation and sarcasm.

"You and Emma conceived a child magically," Belle returned just as appreciatively with the same amount of sardonic sass. "Mazel tov," she deadpanned.

"Want to feel real power, Bookworm? Suck on this energy," Regina commanded and shocked the hell out of all of them when she grabbed Belle's face in both hands and pressed their lips together. It lingered for a long moment. Emma and Ruby fidgeted with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

Belle jerked back as a surge of blue shimmered around her and then slammed her lips into Regina's again.

"Uhh," Emma said and raised her hand and then dropped it to her side. Ruby's mouth worked up and down like a fish out of water. What the hell were they doing?

"Whoo! Holy True Love, Batman!" Belle exclaimed as her blue glow transformation took place.

"What the hell was that?" Ruby sputtered finally and waved her arms dramatically.

"We were creating a magical connection. We only need to touch in order to share magic now. Emma's heart is much more powerful than the earth's energy," Regina explained. "Ruby and I established a connection the first night in Neverland. I hadn't thought about it at the time, but that's probably why our combined magic was able to tap your wolf and why our rage…" she tapered off when Emma's eyes narrowed.

"Am I the only one in this group who doesn't go around kissing everyone else?" Emma flung her hands around dramatically and then glared at Ruby whose cheeks flushed a bright red. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the small sidebar of conversation was filled with levity and felt so incredibly normal.

"Send me to Henry!" She demanded, unable to process all of the magical crap being flung at her. Just one more reason to hate magic. Belle and Regina moved in perfect synchronicity as they waved their palm in front of their respective lover as they envisioned Granny's hospital room.

The crowd parted when Pan reappeared at the top of the steps. Rumpel groaned as Pan healed him and then appeared magically at his side. Apparently, the dagger truly was the only way to kill The Dark One. He was unable to die, but he wasn't invincible. Belle glared at him as he gathered himself and then locked eyes with Regina. Their fingers laced together in a show of unity, something Pan and Rumpel never achieved as long as he controlled The Dark One's dagger.

"Ready, Xena?" Regina riled her counterpart. Belle sneered.

"As I'll ever be, Alti," she responded coldly.

Pan and Rumpel flung pulses simultaneously. They snagged them out of the air easily and returned them, moving as one unit. Two balls of multicolored magic followed, one blue and violet, the other blue and mustard yellow. Pan and Rumpel disappeared, and an innocent car exploded under their magic. The two women readjusted their grip and pressed their shoulder blades together. Seriously? Why they believed their miniscule magic capable of overcoming True Love was beyond understanding.

"Roof!" Belle called and pulled at Emma's heart magic at the same time. Chunks flew from the building, but the duo disappeared again. "Bollocks!"

"Something's not right, Belle. This feels like a diversion," Regina said quietly. Belle nodded and searched for the other two magical beings attacking them.

"I agree," Belle confirmed her suspicions. "Thoughts?" She'd had about enough of this. She and Regina were unstoppable, and Pan knew it. Why keep them focused here?

"None that you're going to like," Regina said and tugged on her hand until the woman stood shoulder to shoulder with her.

"What the hell is that?" Belle asked, her defenses falling as she stared at the swirl of purple magic shooting into the sky from somewhere in the forest.

"The Dark Curse," Regina answered with a hint of fear. Either Pan or Rumpel cast The Dark Curse.

"We're going to forget again," Belle whispered and clutched her chest. Her gaze dropped, unseeing as she thought about what she was about to lose all over again.

"Belle!" Regina yelled and tucked the woman's back against her front tightly and absorbed a ball of magic with the force field of Emma's heart. She grunted at the tingling burn and then pushed the smaller woman from her when it ended. They locked eyes and nodded.

"Stay focused," Regina ordered.

"Can you stop this?" Belle asked and kept a vigilant eye open for their two tormentors.

"No, not even with Emma's heart. Curses can't be stopped, only broken. Think of it as a balance between good and evil. There may be a way, but…" Regina faltered to catch a ball of fire. She squished it in her fingers.

"But what?" Belle urged, a flicker of hope filling her.

"If the original caster destroys the curse, it reverses the original curse and all others after that. We'll be safe, but… we'll go back to The Enchanted Forest. Emma and Henry…they," Regina stuttered.

"They weren't cursed. They won't come with us," Belle completed her thought. "Regina, we can't do that."

"We have to!" Regina yelled in frustration and then took a deep breath. Reality crashed into her gut like a bag of bricks.

"We have no idea what Pan's plans for Storybrooke are. If he manages to turn our child evil, which is possible since we will have the personalities and memories he gives us, she could become the destroyer of this world and all others. She'd be unstoppable." Regina explained. What had she and Emma done?

No, she thought coldly. She never regretted this child, not for a second, and never would. Belle squeezed her hand in support as though she heard the thoughts.

"What if we send Emma and Henry out of Storybrooke? She broke the curse before," Belle suggested, desperately clinging to hope.

"It wouldn't matter. She was inside the barrier when it was cast, which meant she'd be stuck on the outside with whatever memories Pan gave her. Who knows what he intends to make her? She could be a serial killer for all we know. He could be taking us to some inane Medieval time period where justice was doled out at the end of a sword with no questions asked. It's the only way." Regina accepted sadly. Rage swirled, replacing her grief.

"You're a big damn hero, Regina Mills," Belle said, bringing back a small bit of forced levity to their previous feel goods.

"Do you trust me?" Regina asked suddenly.

"Of course," Belle answered, and squeaked when they flew apart as Regina teleported them.

When they reappeared, Regina's hand was buried inside Pan's chest. She squeezed with a satisfied sneer on her face and held his suddenly terrified gaze. She wanted to watch the life leave his eyes. His heart disintegrated in his chest before he ever hit his knees. Rumpel jerked and shook his head as his will suddenly became his own. His dagger flew to his hand, and he disappeared before either woman reacted. He was no longer a threat when he knew the women outmatched him by far. Coward.

They ignored the open, unseeing eyes gazing at the darkening sky and searched his pockets. The entire situation seemed incredibly anticlimactic when Regina produced a small scroll in a purple and golden container. That was it? That small, ornate thing that fit in the palm of her hand wrought destruction of an entire realm when combined with a little rage and a heart. It was underwhelming in a terrifying sort of way.

"I need you to get Emma and Henry to the line on the East side of town, the one where I was kidnapped. Please Belle," she begged and squeezed the other woman's shoulder. Belle nodded.

"What are you going to do?" Belle wiped furiously at her face now that the immediately danger had ended. Regina laughed self-deprecatingly.

"I'm going to leave her bread crumbs and hope she finds us one day," Regina said sadly and rubbed her belly. "I'm not certain it will work, but if I purchase all of the items outside Storybrooke, it might. Please explain the situation to them. The curse takes about two hours to come to fruition. I wager that gives me about one to get to the next town and back. Please, Belle." Regina begged, tears in her eyes.

"Go. I'll get them there. Just get back in time," she promised and wiped her tears as the other witch disappeared. She pulled on the residual energy of Emma's heart and flashed to the hospital.

Emma and Ruby jerked, ready to pounce despite having no defenses against the magical wielder suddenly appearing in front of them. Alex clapped her hands from Henry's lap.

"Poof!" She exclaimed and waved her arms in the air and then wriggled free. Belle dropped to her knees and cried into the girl's blonde hair when she collided with her body. Ruby and Emma stared, guts clenching painfully.

"Where's Regina?" Emma demanded and pulled their son into her side when he reached for her.

"She's okay. She's going to meet us at the town line. We need to go now. Henry, go hug Granny," Belle ordered gently and stood with Alex in her arms. She touched the boy's hair and glanced around at the confused faces in the room.

"You won't be coming back to Storybrooke. Go hug your grandmother," Belle explained. Henry obeyed.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked and accepted Belle and Alex against her chest and wrapped strong arms around them when Belle's strength faltered.

"I'll explain on the way. We have to go now," she said and shook herself free from the protective embrace.

By the time Regina returned, Belle had gathered her family as promised, even Snow, David, Archie and Stacy. She heaved as the magic filled her again and stumbled from Emma's bug. Emma remained squished between her parents, and Henry clung to Belle. Everyone's face was wet with tears of fear of the unknown and also the heart wrenching reality that Emma and Regina had gone through so much only to be parted once more.

Regina recovered quickly, pushing through the discomfort. Henry slammed into her, and tears of her own spilled onto her cheeks. Emma approached more slowly. She hid her face in Regina's neck, drawing upon the witch's strength in order to do what needed to be done. She'd find her and their daughter one day. She knew it. She believed it. This was only another trial of fire their love must walk through.

"I'll find you," Emma whispered. Regina nodded against her head.

"I hope so," she said sadly and met Emma's eyes when she pulled back. "Henry, have you said goodbye to everyone?"

The boy pulled away and ran back to the crowd of people eagerly waiting for one more hug. The dark green swirl of Pan's magic appeared, and Regina fought tears. Emma pulled their fronts together and fitted her lips onto Regina's.

"Emma," she whispered against her lips. "You won't remember me, us, any of this. It will be as if Storybrooke never existed, like we never existed." She said and then gave herself over to the gentle motions of Emma's lips.

"I want to remember you. I don't care if you're not here. Let me remember," Emma begged and hid her face in Regina's neck once more as silent sobs shook her chest.

"It's not my choice, Darling," Regina tried to help her understand. "I can give you new memories, though. I can give you the life you always wanted. I can curse you and Henry. I have to, otherwise, you'll suddenly have this little boy with you somewhere in the middle of the Maine wilderness with no knowledge of how he came into your possession." Regina explained. The crowd wiped tears, though the words spoken into damp necks were indiscernible to all but the two women.

"Regina please," Emma begged. "I just got you back," she cried as she dropped to her knees and pressed her face into Regina's stomach. "We just got her."

"Emma," Regina begged her with her name to get up, to go on, to help her let her and Henry go. Emma tightened her grip.

"Emma, get up, please," Regina pleaded, but it mostly came out in broken sobs and gasps, unrecognizable as actual words. She pushed at her shoulders, her own resolve slipping. Maybe she and Emma stood a chance of still being together under Pan's curse.

"Emma!" Regina cried, followed by a hollow wail of anguish pointed at the sky.

Of all people, it was Belle who stepped forward and pulled Emma away from the broken witch. Ruby came to her lover's aid and held the struggling savior as Belle directed her hand to Regina's chest.

"Emma, take your fucking heart!" Belle ordered coldly. No response. Her hand joined Emma's, and she wrapped the savior's fingers around the golden organ and pulled it out.

"No!" Emma screamed. "Put it back!" Ruby's hand covered Belle's and forced the organ into Emma's own chest with her wolf strength.

Ruby held Emma around the waist and restrained her arms as she cried out. Belle pulled Regina back towards the crowd, handing her over to Charming and Snow, before escorting Henry to the bug. She moved the shifter to neutral and then sent gentle pulses of magic into the vehicle until it crossed the line.

"We'll take care of them, Emma," Ruby promised in her ear.

"I don't want to live if I can't remember her!" Emma squalled. "Let the curse kill me, Ruby! Let me go!" She fought against the sobbing wolf.

"We love you, Emma. Find us," Ruby whispered and then glanced behind her. The smoke was only 30 feet from them now. She dragged Emma to the edge of the barrier, gathered her wolf strength and flung her as hard as possible. She rolled across the pavement.

"Now Regina!" The wolf yelled. Emma regained her feet and sprinted towards the line.

She stopped, confused. Why the hell was she running in the middle of the road? Oh Right. Henry accidentally dropped his toy out of the open window. She jogged to the edge of the road and snatched up the action figure and then wiped her nose and wet face. Must be the sharp Maine air drying out her contacts or messing with her allergies.

She stared down the long stretch of road and shivered. It felt familiar, and an odd pulsing energy surrounded her as though she'd been here before but couldn't remember. She shivered again and sprinted back to the car. This place was creepy as fuck, she decided and took off as quickly as possible.

Henry laughed when she turned up the music and screamed "Under the Sea" as obnoxiously as she could in a terrible accent that was supposed to mimic Sebastian the crab's. He joined in, relieved to be going home.

He'd always felt as though something had been missing, now in this moment more than ever, but his mother loved him more than anything. He was happy, and their vacation camping in Maine was awesome. He was ready to go back to school in a few weeks now that he'd caught up with his overworked mom.

Life was good.


	34. Epilogue

Welp, this is it, guys. My heart is breaking a little bit. SO, my question to you is, would you like me to go ahead and start posting what I have written for the next story OR wait until after my camping trip?

Song: Send me a Song by Celtic Woman's Lisa Kelly

* * *

Emma pulled into her driveway at dusk and killed the engine. They really needed a new car. Her old yellow bug simply hadn't suited her in quite some time. She fell forward against the wheel and rested a moment, taking stock of her emotions. For the past month since returning from Maine, she'd felt off somehow, not quite connected with reality. Her heart searched for something that wasn't there, never had been, but she failed to put her finger on what exactly that something was. The last thirty days had been bizarre, to say the least. Maybe she'd caught a lingering virus while camping.

She caught a whiff of a foreign scent sometimes when her brain lingered between sleep and wakefulness as she drifted off. It was a simple scent, like a faint hint of soap or Shea butter lotion or something equally subtle. Earthy and intoxicating, it left an ache in her chest, a yearning for arms around her waist and a head on her chest. This morning during their breakfast of cereal and toast, she swore she caught a whiff of fresh chocolate chip cookies. It was only the latest in the bizarre string of impossible scents and urges over the past month. Perhaps she needed a brain scan done.

"I'm losing my mind," she whispered into the steering wheel and sighed through her nose. Gathering her strength, she left the safety and quiet of her bug.

"Hey Felicia," she greeted when she finally exited the car and slumped towards the mailbox. The redhead smiled and dropped her trowel in light of conversation with her neighbor.

"Hi Emma. Rough day? You look exhausted. Did the bad guy get away again?" Felicia chirped in quick succession as she was wont to do. Emma grinned at the peppy woman.

"Nah, just haven't really been sleeping lately. Having weird…" Emma waved her hand and then dropped it to her side. "Never mind."

"Having weird what?" Felicia pushed. Emma retrieved her mail and dragged her tired body up the drive to the red plank fence separating their properties.

"I think it's just exhaustion, but for a few weeks now, I've been getting these… flashes, I guess. Like this morning, I swore I smelled cookies in the kitchen. I've never made cookies in my life. The cookies would bake themselves out of fear if I tried to make cookies. And at night… I don't know. It's like I'm not in my own skin anymore." Emma explained as best she could and then fell silent as an odd address caught her attention on her mail.

"I think you need to get laid," Felicia offered with a shrug.

"Of course you do," Emma replied absently and studied the Maine address on the envelope.

"Everything okay?" The redhead asked seriously, studying the sudden change in Emma's face.

"It's a letter from a law office in Maine. I don't know anyone in Maine," Emma muttered and tore into the envelope. Perhaps it pertained to a bail jumper she'd brought in.

"What the hell?" She said, unable to stop her face from screwing up in confusion. She glanced over the page obviously torn from a book, addressed and signed with a pen in elegant loopy script at the top and bottom. There was nothing else in the envelope.

Felicia reached for the page, and Emma surrendered it to her friend who read it aloud.

"_My Dearest Miss Woodhouse,_

_Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me, _

_Saying that now you are not as you were _

_When you had changed from the one who was all to me, _

_But as at first, when our day was fair._

_Can it be you that I hear? Let me view you, then, _

_Standing as when I drew near to the town _

_Where you would wait for me: yes, as I knew you then, _

_Even to the original air-blue gown!_

_Or is it only the breeze, in its listlessness _

_Travelling across the wet mead to me here, _

_You being ever dissolved to wan wistlessness, _

_Heard no more again far or near? _

_Thus I; faltering forward,_

_Leaves around me falling, _

_Wind oozing thin through the thorn norward,_

_And the woman calling._

_Love Always, Your Knightley._

"Damn, Emma. Who the hell did you make fall in love?" Felicia asked with raised eyebrows as she handed the page back to her confused and now incredibly emotional neighbor.

"I have no idea, but I love that poem and it's exactly how I've been feeling for the past few weeks. Like there's something calling to me that I can't quite hear." Emma stared at the cursive script and swallowed.

"Well, this evening just got creepy as fuck," she added and cleared her throat.

"Oh come on. It's sweet and delicious. Someone loving you from afar," Felicia encouraged in a listless way that irritated Emma's protective and survival instinct.

"Right. Until they turn into a creepy stalker, axe murdered who terrorizes me and my son," she piped sardonically.

Still, as Felicia giggled and said her goodbyes and Emma climbed the stairs to the porch and sat on the swing, something tugged in her heart. Who in Maine knew of her existence? And why had this person felt the need to send her such a desire-filled and heartfelt if cryptic and confusing message? She sighed, touched the words, inhaled. Chocolate chip cookies filled her nostrils, and she jerked when a raspy voice pulled through her mind.

_I can still feel you. _


End file.
